Our Little Photographer

Gryfinn LOVES to take pictures. If we let him, he will snap, snap, snap! Photo after photo! And since he usually is using the cell phone to take the pics, most of them turn out blurry. But, then there are those ones. The ones that really do turn out good. That make me think... Was he meaning to take this picture of this object? And if so, damn, we have the next (enter famous photgraphers name here) on our hands! I sure do hope Santa brings him a camera for Christmas!! :)

This Moment

Caelyn just woke up from her nap, Gryfinn isn't feeling good... She walks out & snuggles up next to him. It was really sweet.

We don't know what's wrong with Gryf. Must be a virus of some sort. Not much of a fever (highest has been 100.7), he's not eating much, says everything hurts, looks paler than usual & his eyes have dark circles, & he just kinda whines every now & then. Just looking at him we can tell he doesn't feel good. Poor guy. Sure wish he felt better.

Thankful

I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful for our 4 beautiful kids.
I am thankful for our families.
I am thankful for our friends.
I am thankful for our jobs.
I am thankful for our health.
I am thankful for our house.
I am thankful for our cars.
I am thankful for my life.
I am thankful for my happiness.
I am thankful for the love I feel each & every day.
I am thankful for this day spent with family.
I am thankful that my upside down turkey turned out FANTASTIC!
I am thankful for that bottle of homemade wine that our nephew gave us!
I am thankful for this blog.
And I am thankful for all of u that take the time to read my ramblings!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wordless Wednesday

Love Is....

Waking up next to her every day
Feeling that 'spark' when she walks in the room
That feeling of being whole - cause she completes me
Raising our kids together
Not just saying sorry.... but MEANING it
Not being able to live without her
Completing each other's sentences
Our family
Knowing that things sometimes aren't easy
Knowing that when things aren't easy that we still have each other
Those special moments that are just for us
Knowing not to take for granted any special moments that we have
Being so connected that she knows what I'm thinking about and she is clear across town
Treasuring each other
Not taking each other for granted

Love Is US!!!

I love you Kelly! Happy 8th Anniversary! Looking forward to our lifetime!!

'It takes a second to say I love you, but a lifetime to show it!"

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Found It!!

Yep! We found it! Soooo excited! Had to drive to another city, but we got it!! YAY!!!!!

This Moment

The kids are in bed, we opened a bottle of wine, snuggled on the couch, watching a movie... These are the moments that keep us... US!

whatcha whatcha whatcha want whatcha want

Gryfinn had his appt with the ENT yesterday. He was super nervous - had tears and all on the way. But was fine once we got there. Dr is a pediatric ENT, at the Children's hospital - nothing at all like our dr's office. The staff is more friendly, and then the waiting rooms with the video games and brightly painted walls and colorful decor - and oh so kid friendly! He did great. Did not cry when the dr touched him! He is growing up! And he will be having his tonsils and adenoids removed. We are going to wait until after the first of the year. That way Kel and I can take off the time we need (and get paid for it) and also so our lil man isn't down and out for the holidays. And also so we have time to get things scheduled for Jarrod's surgery. He has to be recircumcised. Now, for those who opt to not have it done, I respect your wishes and your views, and please do the same for us. I will discuss Jarrod's surgery once we know more. But we decided it was best to have them done the same year for deductible purposes. So 2011 is the year. And heck, we figure we might as well have Caelyn and Jayk's tonsils and adenoids out, and should go ahead and have gall bladder and appendix removed from all that still have them - ya know - take advantage of it - if we are gonna hit the deductible, we need to just go all out and have everything done for everyone! What ya think? :)

So, we have been really talking to the kids about Christmas, and what they want. Money is super tight this year, with Kel moving back to days, and we lost out on her night shift differential and also her daytime babysitting money ($600/month) and we were jut getting by losing that money, and then both of the other parents lost and/or quit their jobs in July (loss of another $600/month). So we were lacking their child support for months - one of the other parents got their pension and paid child support up for a year - but with trying to play catchup, and make sure we try and keep some back.... yeah, it just doesn't go that far. So we are trying to really find out what the kids want. We aren't going to buy like we usually do, and just pick up things we think they would like - we want to get them things they really want. Jarrod is all about clothes and cologne and some video games for the Wii. Jayk wants a Pryor jersey, a few toys, and some video games for the Wii. Gryfinn wants moon dough and a pillow pet. Caelyn wants Dora Puppy, that has been all she has asked for - until she saw the ad. The one with the Tinker Bell Cafe. And she wants it. Last night,we were watching a movie with the big boys. And out of nowhere, Caelyn climbs on my lap, pops her binky out, and whispers in my ear "I want Tinker Bell kitchen! And I be Tinker Bell!!" She gets down, and a little later, she climbs back in my lap, pops that binky out again, and whispers "I want Tinker Bell kitchen! I be Tinker Bell! I want Tinker Bell kitchen!!" It was the ABSOLUTE cutest thing! So, now my mission is to find this damn thing! She HAS to have it. She does! I have tried both Walmarts here, and neither one have it. Although online it says that one does have it in stock, but the lady even checked in back and said she couldn't find it. You can't buy it from Walmart online - only in stores. Other places have it, but the cheapest online is $80. And in the Walmart Toy Land book - it is $50. (you can kinda see the price in the pic) but I also verified the price in the online toy land book. So I will be calling and or making a trip to ALL the Walmarts within a reasonable driving distance. Cause she has to have it. She does. I wanted to get it for her anyways, but after last night, and her whispering to me, it was like she was whispering this sweet lil secret to me - now it is my mission to get her this Tinker Bell Cafe!!

This was the day we got the toy book - and she was SO excited!

Is It Possible?

'Arguing with a teenager is like wrestling in the mud with a pig. Sooner or later you figure out that he/she is enjoying it!' ~ Author Unknown

'Attention teenagers - NO is a complete sentence!' ~ Author Unknown

'Hmm! Teenagers. They think they know everything. You give them an inch, and they swim all over you.' ~ Sebastian, "The Little Mermaid"

'I am every emotion times ten, I conform yet I am rebellious, always obeying but somehow still an outlaw, always talking but never heard, I am a teenager." ~ Author Unknown


Our oldest is 13 today. THIRTEEN!!! How did this happen? It just doesn't seem possible that he is this old. A freaking TEENAGER?!! Really? We are Mom's of a teenager?! I have been telling him to stop. To quit growing. To stop getting older. I have said "Jarrod, please, if you love me, you won't get any older, any bigger" and then I tried to forbid it. But he hasn't listened, my threats fell on deaf ears. My bribing/persuasion did not work. He continues to grow, and he is now a teenager. A teenager. A teenager - I keep saying that over and over in my head. (Well - actually, in my head it comes out more song like - to the tune of Teen Angel - yeah, I agree - him turning 13 is making me a bit looney - not that anything else in our lives would make me looney - our lives are very sane, non-chaotic, stress free - haha that really has me laughing! :)

I know lots are going to be changing for him. Teenage years are difficult. Your body goes through so much. You are trying to figure out who you are, and deal with what is happening. Hormones go haywire. I know there will be rough patches, but I think we have done a great job raising him. I am hoping that as he continues to get older that he will continue to feel that he can talk to us about anything. And that he knows that we always support him and love him. He has a journey ahead of him, and so do we! (Us, the new parents of a teenager! seriously, is it possible?!!)

Happy 13th Birthday Jarrod. I love you so much!

Jarrod - 13 yrs 5'4 1/2" 102lbs

So...

I suck at blogging on the weekends. Yep, I do. I did blog last night. From my phone. But apparently I did something wrong, cause it never posted. Kel even asked me today 'didn't you blog last night?' It wasn't anything really, just a filler, to get me through til today. But I still wish it posted, cause then I wouldn't suck as bad. :)



We had Jarrod's bday parties on Saturday and Sunday. Had a family party with my family Saturday afternoon, and Kel's Mom made him dinner on Sunday. And we had like a dance party kinda thing for his friends and cousins Saturday night. My sis-n-law put together some music, which the kids loved! And she also let us borrow their disco ball, which was a HUGE hit! They all danced, it was great!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This Moment

So I know the rules said to post one picture, no words, to capture a moment in time. Well, I never said I was good at following the rules! :o)

I love how much they love each other, and that when outside playing with friends, they still hold hands and run around. I do, I just love it. And I want to always remember these moments - especially when they are fighting, and their words aren't so nice, and they can't keep their hands to themselves. :o)

What's In A Name?

When Kel and I first started talking about having kids, and we decided that I would be the baby oven, without any thought or actually any discussion, I told her that any kids we have would have her last name. I just wanted this. It sucks that our children can not be our biological children. And we live in a state that second parent adoption is not an option. So I felt that the best thing for us to do for everyone to see them as hers was for them to have her last name. And I have said all along that the day she decides to marry me - to make me an honest woman! haha - that I will take her name also. But I have really been considering going ahead and legally changing my name also - even without Kel marrying me first. (although, she may think she is getting off easy if I do, but babe, you aren't - you will marry me someday, and I do mean someday soon!! haha I love you sweetheart!)

So, what have you done? Have you taken your partners name? Did your partner take yours? Or have you both kept your own names? What about your kids? What name did you give them? And why?

(we will discuss marriage in an upcoming blog)

LETS PRETEND.....

That I didn't screw up, and miss several days in the NaBloPoMo thing. Lets pretend I did post everyday. Cause I did, it was just in my head. Yes, there are LOTS of things in my head, but we won't talk about all that now! :0)

My catch up posts are written in the same way as if I had posted each day... so you may want to scroll down to the bottom and start with the oldest date - well, I guess that is if you want to read all my ramblings!


Wednesday November 10, 2010

almost WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Picture day at school - he was showing me how he was going to smile for his picture, and he said that this is his BEST smile! Have to say I agree! It is ONE of his BEST smiles!

Tuesday November 9, 2010

LIAR LIAR

So we learned tonight that our sweet little princess is our own little fibber. And she is super serious when she is doing the fibbing!

Tonight, after dinner, her and Gryfinn both had two things of Smarties. (Gryfinn's all time favorite candy!) A little later, she says she wants a cookie. Kel asks her, 'didn't you just have some Smarties?'. She looks her dead in the eye, face super serious, eyes widen just a bit, and she says 'no'! Well, we are suckers, so she does end up with a cookie. (yes, we are those kind of Moms! haha She ate a good dinner, and we have learned that she loads up on food right before bed, like a mini hibernation kinda thing!) After she finished this cookie (which Mama gave to her) she comes to me asking for a cookie. And I say, 'sis, didn't you just have a cookie?'. She looks right at me, eyebrows raised a little, eyes slightly widened, face serious, and she replies 'no'! It's hard not to laugh. She is only 2. And her little face is just so sweet, even as she is telling little fibs!

Monday November 8, 2010

WORK

Sucks. Only for the simple fact that Kel and I are both working 10 hrs overtime. We did last week, and we are again this week. And will next week probably too. And even though our jobs aren't physical, working 10hrs a day, and then cooking, cleaning, chasing the kids, doing laundry, more cleaning, still chasing the kids, breaking up arguments, bathtime, snack, brushing teeth, and bed - and that's not adding in running to the store, or running a kid here, or there, or here and then there. And also, we don't get any sleep. Whether it's cause we go to bed later than we should, cause the kids are actually asleep, and we can actually watch some tv and snuggle on the couch, or it's because Caelyn seemed to be waiting on Kel and I to go to bed so she could snuggle with us before she feel asleep, or it's because Gryfinn woke up in the middle of the night and climbed in bed with us, oh wait, and so did Caelyn. So yeah, working sucks, working overtime really sucks - until you see the extra money on your pay check.

Sunday November 7, 2010

LOOK AT THEM BROWNS!!

Kel and I are Browns fans. As a matter of fact, being Browns fans is kinda the icing on the cake when it comes to us getting together. We were friends, and little did either of us know that the other was having those feelings! Kel bought us tickets to a game in Cleveland, it was the first game for both of us. They played the Texans. That was 8 years ago! And the rest is history, the happily ever after kind! :)

Anyway, we are Browns fans. Through thick and thin. Die hard fans. We get razzed, alot. But we stay true. We love our Browns. And when our Browns play like they did today, it makes it just that much sweeter to be a Browns fan! Our rookie QB Colt McCoy was on it. Even under pressure, his passing game was on. He put the ball right where it needed to be. And Peyton Hillis - what can I say - that man is a BEAST!

CLEVELAND 34 NEW ENGLAND 14 GO BROWNS!!

Saturday N0vember 6, 2010

MICHIGAN 67 ILLINOIS 65

My brother bought Kel and I tickets to the game! We had a great time, did some tailgating, fired up a lil grill, and I actually drank a couple of beers (which isn't like me anyways, but definitely not considering I cracked open the first one around 10:30am!) It was a crazy game. I mean, look at the score - it was not basketball - it was football - these kinda scores just don't happen!

My brother's friend Derek and Kel

Nephew Ben and brother Doug

Friday November 5, 2010

THIS MOMENT FRIDAY

So, I am borrowing this from my blog buddy KJ !!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. (but, I may have a hard time not putting any words on sometimes :)

waiting on grandma!!

Yep, she's that kind of Mom!

We had conferences at Gryfinn's preschool tonight (yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't even mentioned that he is in preschool - but I promise it will be in one of my previous written in my head blog posts that I will post this month - along with pic's) He is doing great! Super friendly, very eager to learn, and just so excited to be there each day. She said starting in January she will start going through a checklist of what they need to know to start kindergarden, that way we will have time to work on things before he goes for his screening.

After we leave there, we head to the store. We needed milk, waffles and syrup, bagels and vitamin water. We check out and walk to the car. Kelly puts Caelyn in her seat, which is in the 3rd row, I load the groceries into the car, and then get Gryfinn out and Kelly buckles him in. Then Kel and I get in and buckle. Total time like 1 min 30 sec. The moment I put the car in reverse, Caelyn says she has to pee - and there is that urgency to her voice. So Kel gets out, reaches over the 2nd row, unbuckles Caelyn, and pulls her over the seat, sets her on the ground, and they walk into the store. It is a store that is on the other end of town, so we don't go to it that often. So she had to walk around a bit to locate the bathroom. And as she is walking around, looking for the bathroom, she looks down at Caelyn walking next to her, and realizes that she does not have any socks or shoes on. Now, if it was mid Summer and 80 degrees, this wouldn't be as big of a deal, but considering it is November and 45 degrees, thats a whole other story! She said she picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. All while trying to hide her feet - they were filthy from walking across the parking lot and the store, and did I mention that is was 45 degrees! Kel said she felt like she was getting 'those' looks from people. I laughed, and said, "yep, you're that kind of Mom!!"

WoRdLeSs WeDneSDaY!

Halloween Weekend

Our weekends are super busy, and Halloween weekend was no different. Friday night, my brother hosted a family Halloween party/soccer Halloween party. We did a haunted trail, and I think it turned out good. There were screams of fear, so I think we did our job! Saturday Jarrod had a soccer game, and we had our family over for trick or treat and dinner/college football. It was lots of fun! Jarrod and my niece Kelsey didn't trick or treat, Jayk took off with his cousins and Uncle, cause the little ones are too slow and hinder their candy getting ability! So I didn't get any pic's of Jayk trick or treating... and that upsets me. But he had fun, and that is the most important thing!





Here are some pic's of my littlest monsters getting some sweet treats!






The pic is blurry, but the sunset was gorgeous so

I had to put it on here! and not to mention how cute

the pic is of Kel and the kids!!




On a mission to get more candy!!

Got a lil captain in you?! haha

And awaaaaay they go!!

Tinker Bell

Police Officer Gryfinn

Jarrod and Jayk dressed up for school, and I do have those pic's, but they are on Kel's phone, so I will save those for another post in this NaBloPoMo! Which, by the way, today is day 2. When was the last time I posted 2 days in a row? Or even 2 times in one week? Yeah, I can't remember either! :) And I decided to post 'now' things first, and then I can go back and catch up on previously written in my head blog posts.

We rented Toy Story 3. We went to the drive in to see it over the Summer, but it was so nice to watch it again. All 6 of us were cuddled on the couch to watch it together as a family, and I just really enjoyed that. We don't get to do that often with our busy schedules. And even though we have already seen it, Gryfinn still got super worried about the Toys during 'that one part' and I cried during 'that' part. If you have seen it, you will know which parts I'm talking about, but if you haven't, this way I'm not a spoiler! And if you haven't seen it - rent it. It's really cute!

November already?

So, seriously.... where did the other 10 months go? I mean, didn't we just bring in 2010, like 2 months ago?!! Time sure does fly when you're having fun.... and on the go nonstop between work, kids, dinner, games, practice, bath, bedtime.... oh wait, did I even talk to Kel today?!! Some days it really is like that. The only conversations that we have our via the phone, whether text or talk. But atleast we get to go to bed together each night, yes, most nights we have an extra lil being between us (I won't mention names Miss Caelyn!!) But for years we were on different shifts. So even when we are away during the evenings doing different things for our kiddles, we do still go to bed together each night. And I am grateful for that!!

The computer is still a mess - but I am not as aggravated today, so it isn't pissing me off like it was the last time. So that's good. As I type that, the enter key flips up. haha Stupid computer! It's a good thing I love those rotten monsters that did this!!

So I just read that November is NaBloPoMo - you know, the blog a day for a month thing. I am not going to vow to do it, just gonna say I am going to make an effort to do it. Atleast post a pic or something each day - or atleast try to post a pic or something each day. And believe me, if it doesn't happen, it's not due to lack of things to talk about -cause I think I have atleast 30 posts archived in my head - and that's not to mention the things that are yet to happen this month!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!