Best Christmas Ever... Continued....

Mom and Jerry could not be with us for Christmas this year so we had a Christmas after Christmas. We had a Christmas brunch 4 days after Christmas with Mom, Jerry, Lisa, Chris, Brenna and Nathan. I was looking forward to this so much. Mom had mentioned that she wanted a Wii. Eric and I along with Connie and the kids, Lisa and family, and Grandma and Granddad got her and Jerry a Wii for Christmas. I was so excited to give it to them knowing that they would not be expecting it.

After playing the Wii at Sheila's house, I wanted to try Mom and Jerry's out before giving it to them, "just to make sure it worked"! Eric and I played for hours after the boys went to bed, there is no way we could have a Wii, we would not get anything else done.

The Wii was a huge hit! Mom and Jerry were very surprised. We all spent a lot of time playing. It was fun to watch everyone else play, you really look kind of silly boxing against a TV. I think boxing was a favorite of David, Michael and Nathan. Brenna was really good a tennis.

Hopefully Mom and Jerry will enjoy the Wii, I hope Mom does not overdo it! With Mom's luck she will end up with something crazy like Wii tennis elbow!

The Best Christmas Ever

The boys kept saying "this is going to be the best Christmas ever". Little did I know they were right. 4 seems to be a really magical age. Everything is just so exciting. We counted down every day of December using an advent house that I made (courtesy of Martha Stewart). We watched hours worth of Christmas shows and sung Rudolph hundreds of times. We drove through a live Nativity and drove through the lights at Sandy Point. How can you not be excited around the boys?

David unfortunately got a cold right before Christmas. Christmas eve he was not feeling great, he woke up coughing at 4am which of course woke up Micheal. Michael decided he did not want to go back to sleep, so none of us really went back to sleep after 4am. This was after I went to bed at 1am and Eric at 2am. We were able to keep the boys in bed (David in his room with me on the floor and Michael in bed with Eric) until 7am. At 7, it was just pure craziness, wrapping paper flying until all the presents were unwrapped. Even though we were tired it was a fun morning.

That afternoon we went to Steve and Sheila's for Christmas dinner. When I talk about Sheila, I just tell people "my other sister in law", its easier to explain that way and Steve and Sheila are family. We had so much fun there. Katie and Kyle had gotten a Wii for Christmas. I'm not really a fan of video games, but let me tell you...it was a blast. Dave and I played tennis and bowling, I'm sure we looked like idiots, but it was great. Dinner was terrific, it was a great end to a great day.

Justice Finally

Connie came down today for Bobby's court date. He is serving 5-10 in PA. He has been going back and forth as to whether or not he was going to plead guilty or make Brittany go through a trial. Thank God he plead GUILTY! There was a very graphic statement of facts that was read by the States Attorney, that was very hard to listen to without wanting to jump up and cause bodily harm to him. The judge found him guilty and said that because it was a continuing course of conduct that he would not do consecutive terms. The judge also said that he did not agree with PA's low end of the sentence of 5 years and therefore sentenced him to 9 years. This means that he won't be able to get out in 5, that he definitely has to do 9 years. Even though I would have liked him gone for much longer, I have to be realistic, this is Maryland after all.

I am so proud of Brittany. I can't imagine the amount of courage that it must have taken for her to come forward. I know that she said that she would testify against him, but I'm so glad that she won't have to. She has suffered enough. I'm also so proud of Connie. She has lost so much but has remained so strong. I'm not sure at what point I would have lost it, she has been amazing.

Moles

Today I had an appointment at Johns Hopkins. Its my 6 month check up with the Melanoma Clinic. When the doctor said she saw 2 moles that looked suspicious to her, I asked for them to be removed right away. I had a rather large mole removed from the small of my back--of course its right where my gun belt sits. 4 stitches there. The other was removed from my face, only 1 stitch there. I have learned over the years to not freak out about getting moles biopsied. I have had enough come back perfectly normal, it was just the one that came back as Melanoma. But then again it only takes 1.... I am not going to worry about the results, I will get the results in about 2-3 weeks. Its out of my hands and the moles are removed.

Christmas Tree

Eric and I figured today was probably the best day out of the next week to go and get our tree. Between the weather, APD, and the bed bug business things have been crazy. Why shouldn't it get a little more crazy? Our friends Wendy and Slade are adopting a child from Siberia! We are so excieted for them, they finally got the call and they have to go to Russia for 2 weeks. Things have been pretty crazy for them and they asked if we could watch Tori for the day while they got things done. The 3 kids were so excieted to be spending the day together. What a great day to take three 4 year olds Christmas tree shopping. It's starting to drizzle, its really muddy, oh well, off we go.

We have been buying our tree from the same place for years. Apart from a bird in the tree (literally) one year and bugs in the tree one year, and Rocky stripping the branches one year, we have had great luck. Before kids, Eric and I would really take our time picking just the perfect tree. Since kids each year we pick a tree a little faster. This year while Eric and I picked the tree, the 3 kids played hide and seek in between the rows of trees, screaming at the top of their lungs as they found each other. With feet covered in mud, its time to go home. On the way home I needed to answer an important phone call. Of course the kids got louder because we asked them to be quite. It ends up with 3 kids in a time out after we get home. I think the time out was better for me than the kids. I enjoyed the 4 minutes of quite before they ran off to play.

Back at home they made us laugh as they played "Book Man". Michael was the "Book Man" and Tori and David were the book readers. I think the jist of it was they were playing library. After removing almost every book the boys have they did a pretty good job of cleaning up. The each selected several books to have read to them. My mom had just gotten into town so she was elected official book reader. I think she read till her eyes crossed.

Slade and Wendy are such good friends. I am so happy that they are going to be blessed with a son in a few months. I'm sure its going to be heartbreaking to meet their son in Russia next week and then to have to leave him in Russia as the paper work is finalized. They should be going to adopt him I think in February. What an exciting time.

Gingerbread House Fun

Lisa, Brenna and Nathan came down today for what I thought would be a fun (easy) day of making Gingerbread Houses. I thought it would be a fun tradition to start. Guess I should have read the directions, turns out that the house has to sit for about 3 hours total before you can decorate it.

Nathan's birthday is on the 17th so we gave him his birthday present early. It was a "Show me the Money" wrestling toy. He loved it. Its so much fun to give a gift that is truly appreciated. Guess the whole wrestling theme really got the boys wound up and Lisa and I decided that we would not be able to take watching gingerbread houses set and kids turned pro wrestlers for the next 3 hours so it was off to Chucky Cheese. It goes without saying that everyone had a great time at Chucky Cheese. We got back to my house around 6:30. I figured we would be done the houses around 8pm at the latest, yeah right. Around 9:30 we were finally finished. Nathan and Michael had about as much house decorating as they could take after about an hour and they played together. David and Brenna were terrific, they decorated the entire time.

Shop With A Cop

Every year for the past 3 years I have participated in a program called "Shop with a Cop". The Optimist Club of Anne Arundel Co. has school guidance counselors nominate a child who is doing well in school, but comes from a challenged background. Each child is picked up from home by a police officer and taken to Walmart where they are given a $100 gift card to shop and then we go to lunch at the Outback Steakhouse. I have found it to be a very rewarding experience.

This year was--lets just say---challenging. I had an 8 year old boy that was just overwhelmed with the thought of being able to "buy anything I want". He certainly had no concept of how far $100 would go. There were a few temper tantrums when I would not let him buy rated R movies--I did say he was 8 years old right? Overall he had a terrific time, he bought himself a new bike and several toys and even gifts for his 2 brothers and father. The thing that I found most sad was the fact that he refused to buy anything for his mother. I don't know what his family situation is, but it must be tough.

This is the season of giving, I have found that after the giving of a day with a child that I am truly blessed.

Annual Craft Fair

For me this is the first sign that its the Christmas season. No, seeing Christmas trees in October when I'm out shopping doesn't do it! Every year for many years (I'm not sure how many), I go to a Christmas craft fair in Harrisburg PA. Its a huge deal, an all day event, Christmas everywhere, I love it. I went with my sister in law Beth, and her sister in law Sheila. Beth's good friend Denise usually goes with us, but couldn't make it this year---we missed her. We saw our other sister in law Cathy there, but only for a brief minute as we were all on a mission to get through this huge craft fair.

Not only did I get some great things, but what I love the most is the drive up and back. We can usually get into some pretty deep conversations and I end up feeling so "connected" with them. I already can't wait till next year.

Mid East Peace Talk

Yesterday I was working in downtown Annapolis at the Mid East Peace Talk. It was interesting to say the least. I actually learned a little as people screamed at each other. I am used to working in areas where people yell at the police. Yesterday was different in that the police were not being yelled at, we were just between the groups that hated each other. I don't really get why they were protesting, neither side was willing to hear what the other had to say. Seems it went a little better inside of the Naval Academy gates.

Eric is doing a little better, hopefully he continues to get well. I did not think that there has really been much change in Bosco but our friend Taras was over today and mentioned that he thought Bosco had drastically improved (he hasn't seen him in about a week). I guess its hard to see the positive changes when we are still dealing with Bosco's potty issues. I'm hoping its the Prednisone, how many times can a floor be mopped!

Christmas Reindeer

Today I wanted to find something fun to do. I had heard about a farm called Applewood Farm that has Christmas reindeer. 65 miles did not look so bad on map quest---I did not factor in holiday traffic. It took us about an hour and a half to get there, but it was worth the drive. I had never seen a reindeer much less get to pet one, it was pretty cool. The kids had a fun time petting the reindeer. There was pony rides, train rides, hay rides and games like instead of ring toss it was antler toss, and snowball bowling. There was also a petting zoo, although you really could not pet anything. If Eric had been feeling better you could also cut your own Christmas tree, although its pretty early. I'm really starting to feel a decorating time crunch. Our neighborhood is really starting to light up--we don't have up anything yet.

No other news, Eric and Bosco are both about the same, no real improvement.

So What Next?

I already have more on my plate than I can handle right now! Bosco is not doing great, he still needs help walking sometimes. This week coming up I have 4 days of working overtime that I just can't get out of (Mid-East Peace talks are at the Naval Academy), so I will be gone from home a lot. So what else could happen? Eric's lower back has been sore for about a week or so, but it happens from time to time. Seems that it is really bad now. Today he pretty much was laid out hoping to lessen the pain, he can hardly move. Of course this is a holiday weekend so he can't see a doctor til Monday---did I mention I'm going to be gone most of this week! I shouldn't say it, but what next?

On a fun note, I took the kids to see Playhouse Disney Live at the Lyric in Baltimore. It was worth every penny to see their faces as they watched the show. I had more fun watching them than I did the show. This is the first time they have seen a show like this. It was funny when we got home hearing them act out the show. What a blast.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving this year was terrific. We had dinner at Bruce and Cathy's house, everything was great. Michael sampled a little of everything, David had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner consisting of mostly rolls and cranberry sauce. It was really nice having the Nelson family all together for dinner.

I debated about going shopping today, Black Friday. Luckily my better judgement prevailed and I did a lot of shopping on line. This morning the vet's office called at 7am to say that Mike's dog Angus was not doing well. He was having seizures and had a fever that they could not bring down. The decision was made to euthanize him. Poor Angus, he was a sweet dog, I know that he is at least no suffering anymore.

Eric and I took the boys to the B & O Museum in Baltimore today. Santa arrived by train, the boys were so excited. They got to sit on Santa's lap. Michael asked for a race track and a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. David asked for a duck, a fish, a race track and a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine. What the heck is with the duck? He asked for one last year and between us and Mom and Jerry he got plenty of "duck" stuff. He was sad and wondered why Santa did not bring him a duck. I can't figure this duck thing out, he says he's not talking about a real duck. The fish caught me off guard. I asked him what kind of fish--he said a goldfish. I asked if it was a real fish, he said no. What am I going to do?

I did brave the stores today and went to Circuit City to pick up a few things I had ordered on line. The boys wanted to go with me, the only thing was is that they were playing dress up in power ranger costumes. I figured what the heck, why not go shopping in costumes. We were quite the sight in Circuit City with a red and a blue power ranger. The things you can get away with when you are 4.

I am very thankful for my family and friends. Thank you for being in our lives.

Trying to catch up

I will try to catch everyone, I thought that I would be posting more regularly, but life gets in the way...

Bosco has shown slight improvement. He's been on steroids since Saturday. Poor dog, he has lots of energy and no way to get rid of it. We are supposed to keep him pretty quiet and rested, trouble is he feels well, his mind is good, but his hind end is still not connecting with his brain. Hopefully he will continue to improve on the steroids. The main drawback to the steroids is that he drinks a lot, which means he pees a lot, and I do mean a lot! I don't know how many times Eric and I have had to mop the floor downstairs (thank God for tile flooring). Evidently this is just a nasty side effect of the steroids, hopefully it will go away when his dose is lowered. I do still hope that he will be able to return to work, but I think I know in my heart that he won't be able to. Hopefully he will at least be able to play at home and enjoy the rest of his life retired.

Mom came down last Tuesday, we are always happy to see her, but also happy that it usually means that Eric and I get a night out. We went to dinner at Benihanas Wednesday night with Debbie and Taras. We had a fantastic dinner. It was so good to be out with T and Debbie, T does so much for us but I feel like we never see him socially.

Good thing that we got our night out on Wednesday because on Thursday Eric called me at work and told me to meet my mother at the hospital, that an ambulance would be bringing her in. Turns out that (depending on who's side you take), Mom tripped over Blanca, or Blanca tripped my mom. Either way she ended up on the floor hurting her knee and hip in the process. I felt bad for her, she was hurting pretty good, I tried to lighten in up by asking if she hurt Blanca :) The ER doc told her that she had a bone chip on her knee and she would have to be in an immobilizer until she could be seen by an orthopedic doc. Her hip was fine. Luckily she was able to get an appointment on Monday, although she did have to postpone her trip to Cumberland. On Monday the orthopedic doc said that her knee was fine but that he was concerned about the possibility of a fracture in her hip so he sent her for an MRI and told her no driving. Today we went back to the doctor and he said that the MRI was fine, no fracture--finally GOOD NEWS.

On Monday we met Connie, Brittany and Justus at Chucky Cheese in Hagerstown. We were not able to see Justus on his birthday so we met there to celebrate it. The kids had an absolute blast. Hard to believe Justus is 6. Its great that the cousins are so close. I had fun car racing against Britt. I'm a cop, I can drive fast, you would think that I could beat s kid on a car racing video game right---wrong, I think I lost every time!

I had a doctors appointment today as well. It was a followup with my orthopedic doctor for my MRI results on my neck. The MRI showed that I have 3 very small bulges in the disks in my neck. She did not seem concerned about it. She is concerned about my reflexes, evidently they are pretty hyper, so she is referring me to a neurologist (isn't it supposed to be dogs take after their owners, not the other way around?). I'm still doing PT for some neck and back pain, luckily it seems to be just muscular.

Well that should be enough in one week right? Wrong. Last Friday we had an officer get shot during a search warrant. He has a son that is the same age as my boys. It really hits home when something like this happens. Our new K-9 handler, Mike was also on the drug raid and was involved in the shooting. Thank God he is OK. Mike's dog has not been well since he brought him home in Sept. from Miami. Friday night (the night of the shooting) I stopped by Mike's house to check on the dog, Angus. Angus looked terrible, I ended up taking him to the vets where he spent the weekend hooked to IVs and vets trying to figure out why a 2 year old dog was so sick. Monday on my way home from Chucky Cheese the vet called me and told me that Angus has lymphoma. The only options are chemo ($5000) or medication to make his last days more comfortable. I feel terrible for Mike, at least with Bosco I know that I have had a great 10 1/2 years with him as a partner, poor Angus never had a chance.

Today seems to have been a little calmer. Mom was able to get on the road to Cumberland, I know she's happy her hip is not hurt. I was able to get some baking done for Thanksgiving. Michael was actually a big help in the kitchen while David helped Eric wash the cars. I will have a little more baking to due on Thanksgiving, but I think it should go well.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

More on Bosco

Today I took Bosco to a neurosurgeon in Gaithersburg. I really felt like I was at the right place, they really have their act together there. After the exam, the vet said he did not think it was Degenerative Mylopathy, his concern was cancer. He wanted to do chest and abdomen x-rays mostly due to the fact that Bosco has lost about 6 pounds in just 4 months. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. Bosco has basically stayed within a pound or 2 of his weight since he was 2 years old. He did not have to be sedated for the x-rays, and it only took about 15 minutes. The news was good, no signs of cancer in the lungs.

The next most likely scenario was that Bosco had a bone infection. Evidently they are very common in older German Shepherds. This would be very treatable with antibiotics. Due to the weight loss, the vet said this was a very good possibility. The draw back? A $2500 CAT scan and a spinal tap. With the possibility that it was something as simple as an infection I had to pursue the CAT scan and tap.

Many hours later I am told that its not an infection. There is some sort of "massive" mass "severely" compressing Bosco's spinal cord. The neurologist be lives its a disk either ruptured or herniated, the radiologist believes its a tumor. The neurologist wants to do surgery, if its a disk problem the chances of a full recovery are 75%, if its a tumor then its a 6-12 month life expectancy. The surgery would cost around $6000.

This is tough news to hear, Bosco has been my partner for more than 10 years, one side of me hates for it to come down to a situation where its just about the money. The other side of me realizes that he's 12 years old and really doesn't deserve to be put through a very serious surgery that one expert believes is not going to have a good outcome.

Eric and I are choosing to see how Bosco responds to steroids. The vet says that if its a disk there is a possibility that it will shrink with steroids. If there is no change then we know its a tumor and surgery would have been for nothing. There is a pretty significant risk to using the steroids. Evidently the pain medicine he's been on for years for his arthritis can cause serious GI problems when mixed with steroids. The vet says that since we don't want to go the surgery route, we have to give Bosco the chance that the steroids will work even with the potential of danger.

I am so thankful to be surrounded by friends and family that care so much for Bosco and his family. Thanks for all of your support.

Bosco Update

Well Tuesday I am taking Bosco to a neurologist in Gaithersburg. I am hoping that he will be able to help me with decisions that will need to be made. My vet now says that she doesn't think its a disk problem due to the fact that he does not seem to be in pain (thank God). She believes its either a Tumor or Degenerative Myelopathy. Neither is great. Bosco actually seems to be doing better today, maybe the acupuncture this past Saturday helped him.

Bosco

You would think that I would be prepared for Bosco's failing health, I really thought that I was. I mean he's 12 years old! He's a working German Shepherd, they don't normally work as long as he has, a 12 year old Shepherd is almost unheard of in police work.

Last night at K-9 training, my car was empty. It's so strange to ride around in my car without Bosco. On Sunday I noticed that Bosco was really stiff in his hind legs. By Monday he almost fell down the stairs. His hind end is so weak on wobbly. I took him to the vets on Monday morning. I had just come in from court so I was in uniform. People in the waiting room were saying "poor old dog". I mean I know he's old, but seeing him so weak and wobbly just kills me. By the time I saw the vet I couldn't take the waiting room comments any longer and broke down when the vet came in.

The vet said it could be many things causing the sudden down slide. Could be a tumor, disk problem or degenerative mylopothy. She said not to worry because we could do x-rays or an MRI to determine what's going on. I felt so cold hearted when I said that I probably would not want to put him under for either. What's the use. I'm not going to have him operated on, he has had a really good life, I don't want him going through surgery, I don't think that would be fair to him. She also mentioned getting him a cart. I think that would just be a selfish way to keep him around, I know he would not be happy with that quality of life.

The blood work came back today, its not cancer. I guess that's good, but he's actually doing worse today. On Saturday I am going to take him for acupuncture, I will try anything at this point if it means he's not in pain and helps his hind end problems.

I have started to think of how to deal with the kids when Bosco does finally die. I know how hard its going to be on Eric and I, I'm not sure how to explain the whole thing to them. Hopefully we have time to figure it out.

Bosco has been such a huge part of our lives, a partner at work for the last 10 years. Hopefully he improves over the next few days. Off to K-9 training I go with no dog tonight....

Don't put your finger in there!

Somehow David got his finger stuck in a plastic telescope. I have know idea why he would think it was a good idea to stick his finger in there. He came to me crying that he needed "slippery soap" to get the telescope off. Simple enough--well all the slippery soap in the world was not going to get that thing off of his finger.

I was ready to take him to the fire department, they have the jaws of life, surely they would have something to cut off a plastic telescope right? Of course Eric thought that was crazy, he said he would just cut it off. Well that scared David and excited Michael. Michael was already in the bathtub so we had to move ourselves into the bathroom so that Michael could watch. We had David close his eyes and then Eric started cutting. I was probably just as worried as David, but it came off pretty easy, Eric did a good job and did not cut David's finger off. Well, just to add a little drama, Michael starts shouting "there's blood". Meanwhile David has just opened his eyes and is scrambling to find the blood. I had to show them both that there was no blood, it was just a piece of red plastic on the washcloth. Not good enough for Michael, he insisted it was blood until I picked it off the washcloth and showed him.

Just another day at the Nelson's.

October Birthday's

It used to be that Lisa, Jerry and I would celebrate our birthday's in October every year. Since mom and Jerry have moved to PA its been a little harder to do that. This year while Eric went on a guys weekend to NY to watch football, the boys and I went to PA. Lisa and the kids were also able to come.

We always have a good time together even if its just hanging out around the house. David, Michael and Nathan had a great time just being boy's. The 3 of them together is like a tornado! Brenna seems so mature to me, she's such a great helper especially when she watched the boys Sunday morning and I got to sleep in!

Grandma taught David & Michael how to play Old Maid. I don't know how many times we laughed at them when they would say "I don't want to get stuck by the Old Maid"

Thanks for a great weekend away.

Halloween

Halloween started with a parade at Crofton Children's Centre. It was so cute seeing all of their classmates dressed up. They were all so proud of their costumes. I'm so thankfull that Eric and I are able to be a part of school events like this, I can't imagine missing it.

Halloween was so much fun. Michael was a cowboy riding a pony and David was a pirate. For a few days we talked about how to say "Trick or Treat" and then "Thank you and Happy Halloween". Well, on the 31st they came home from school with the saying "Trick or Treat, smell my feet"! Oh, the things they pick up--at least they forgot about it by the time we started trick or treating.

They could barely wait until it was dark to start. Johanna came to our house and I let the boys go to a few houses with her, then back to our house where the stage was set for Johanna to trick or treat our house. The boys told her to wait so that they could go inside because she had to knock on the door and say trick or treat--that's just how you do it! It was so funny, they took their jobs handing out candy very serious.

After that Tori was also ready to start trick or treating. We have gone with Tori, Slade and Wendy for the last 2 years. Slade and Wendy were really into the Halloween spirit, Wendy was Batwoman, Slade was Batman and Tori was Batgirl. They looked great (although I had to joke with Wendy saying she looked too sexy to trick or treat our neighborhood!) Great costumes!

This year we could not get away with just going around our cul de sac--it was a mad dash going from one house to the other. Usually with Tori leading the way with David hot on here heels, Michael brought up the rear--he was having a little trouble with his cowboy boots and horse legs. About halfway through we met up with Brandon (Spiderman), Bill and Tammie. It was a blast watching the kids have so much fun.

After we came home and the boys each had a few pieces of candy, the first thing David asked was "When is Christmas!?" My gosh, can't we just make it through Halloween?

Pumpkin Carving

This year my goal was to do 4 pumpkins. Great idea since I'm still having problems from my car accident, but oh well, Halloween is only once a year. I picked a pirate ship, Michael picked a flying ghost, and David picked Goofy on a jack o lantern. By the time I was finished with these 3, it was getting dark and I could barely move, poor Eric didn't get a pumpkin carved for him.

Dog Trainers

Both of the boys love to play as if they are training the dogs. It doesn't matter which dog, they just like to give them commands. Poor Blanca when I'm trying to work with her at finding mold or bed bugs its always a little noisy. She has to contend with 2 kids telling her to "seek" or David spinning the training wheel after she has found a hide. I figure if she can locate mold or bed bugs under these conditions we should be in really good shape.
The boys enjoyed seeing Chris and I on the news. Now instead of just being dog trainers, Michael has also turned into a news reporter. I had to crack up while I was working Blanca, from behind me I can hear Michael saying "here is Blanca, she's a rescue dog from Florida that can find mold and bed bugs". Of course the more I laughed, the more commentary I got, it was hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0W9rmBBllM

Crazy Week

This has been a pretty crazy week. I feel like I just need to post something just to get caught up. Eric and T have been working like crazy on the house. The outside of the house is so close to being done! They even worked in the rain! We are still not decided on the next step--to start the rest of the project by breaking through to the new house or wait until spring. I keep going back and forth on what to do, guess we will have to figure it out sometime soon otherwise the weather will make the decision for us, it will be to cold to break through.
The boys had their pumpkin patch field trip on Wednesday. Of course we haven't had rain in forever, but it rained for their trip. They were able to go and had a great time. I think the highlight of the trip was getting to ride on the school bus.
I had a MRI on Thursday. The orthopedic doctor said that I show signs of "clonus" in my foot and said I needed an MRI right away. Of course I did my own research on clonus, I should not have done that. Just when I though I was really getting better my neck has been killing me this week.
With me working this week, Eric and T working on the house and then my neck hurting, the boys have been pretty much left to fend for themselves. (Well not really) They have watched so much TV this week. I think that today we are paying for it, the boys are so stir crazy. Hopefully we will get a lot of outside time on Sunday, we are hoping to go to homestead gardens for their fall festival activities.

Kids Birthday's

The boys were invited to Sean and Jack's birthday parties today. They were so excited, its really the first birthday parties that they have been invited to outside of our circle of family and friends. I guess this is the beginning of school friends birthday parties. They had a blast at both parties. Between bobbing for apples at Sean's party and playing at Rolly Polies for Jack's party it was a fun filled and exhausting day.

Girls Scrapbooking Weekend

This weekend, Rich took the triplets to his sisters house and Sharon, Claudia and I had the house to ourselves for a girls scrapbooking weekend. We had such a good time and really got a lot done. I can't wait to do it again sometime!

My Birthday

Well, today I'm 38, yes I said it--38. Wow, where does time go? Seems like yesterday that I was 21, enjoying many a drink at the Fells Point Festival with Eric and Lisa. Today was most definitely not like my 21st birthday. Instead of getting crazy and drinking I don't know how many beers today was a little more relaxed. We all went out to lunch a my new favorite Mexican restaurant Mi Casita, they have great shrimp quesadillas. After lunch we went to Kinderfest at Watkins Park. I had no idea that Kinderfest was such a big deal. There were hundreds of people there. We all had a good time. The boys were able to play on moon bounces and then try their hand at carnival games where everyone won a prized (and the game only cost 50 cents!). Michael especially liked the pig races. I can't believe how hot it was at Kinderfest, there was not a lot of shade.
After Kinderfest, Eric was able to move our new playground to the backyard. Sounds easy right? Well it took 4 guys to carry the one main piece to the backyard. Its still not assembled, hopefully sometime this week.
The boys were able to play on the dune buggy that Alyssa gave them. Its pretty cool. They had to show great patience seeing how we got the dune buggy yesterday but the battery had to charge for 18 hours. They had so much fun riding on that so it doesn't seem to bother them that the playground is not set up yet.
Taras came over this morning and gave me a birthday card with a gift certificate to Benny Hanas. Wow! We talked about the house and the state we are in now. If we move forward with the addition, its going to be a rough couple of months. In order for the electrical, hvac, and plumbing to be done, we have to break through to the new house. It seems like such a mess, but I think we should just keep plugging along.
I don't know if Michael was joking when today he said that he and David were my birthday presents. I laughed at him and said of course you are, but reflecting on my life I know that even though times can be rough and the boys can be trying, they truly are gifts.

Girls Night Out

Tonight I was leaving the house for a "girls night out". Well, my wild and crazy nights out usually consists of a glass of wine and some scrapbooking. I was meeting Sharon at Claudia's house for dinner. David was not too happy that I was going out--it didn't matter that we had spent the day with Sharon and the kids picking apples, broccoli, and spinach and then having a picnic lunch and playing at Sharon's! I told David that it was a girls night out for dinner and scrapbooking. He said it wasn't fair and that he needed dinner also. Michael on the other hand came over and gave me a huge hug, he said "mom, have a great girls night scrapbooking"
Dinner at Claudia's was great, she is an awesome cook. She made cannalonies (I'm sure I butchered that spelling) from scratch--yumm. I don't know how she does it, she's 5 months pregnant with twins and her son Cameron is 4. Cameron, David and Michael share a birthday. It was a really nice night, lots of food, wine and great very candid :) conversation. We are all looking forward to our weekend away together next weekend. Rich is taking the kids out of town so we will have Sharon's house to our selves for a scrapbooking slumber party weekend---I'm so excited. I think the highlight of the night for me was when Sharon and Claudia put candles in the brownies and sang happy birthday to me. I'm fortunate to have great friends.
Saturday morning I had to be up early because Eric and Taras were going to pick up a swing set that I had bought out of the Pennysaver for $100. I think I am as excited as the kids are. The first thing Michael says to me is "Mom how was your scrapbooking dinner work girls night out". How sweet is that! The next thing was, "when is dad going to get home with our swing set".

Oct. 4th Michael is the helping hand

Today Michael was the helping hand. He was so proud of himself, and from what I hear he did a great job.
As a treat for the boys after school we took lunch and went to Sandy Point State Park. I was worried it might be chilly being right on the water--boy was I wrong. The boys were really excited to go to the "beach". When we got to the park, there were only maybe 4 other people on the beach. We took towels and sat down by the water. I figured the boys would just dig in the sand and maybe stick their toes in the water. I thought the water was pretty chilly, but that did not stop the boys. They were in up to their knees and loving it. Mind you we did not have bathing suits, just shorts and t-shirts.
A lady and her 4 year old daughter showed up and the boys immediately ran to the little girl and asked her to play. I was so proud of them, they played so well together. Well next thing you know, David has fallen in the water and is sitting down. He doesn't seem to care that we don't have a change of clothes. I end up just taking the shorts off hoping they will dry a little by the time we go home and letting him play in his underwear. Of course did I have my camera with me today--NO.

Oct. 3th David is the "Helping Hand"

Today when I picked the boys up from school, Mrs. McClellan said she had some news for me. She told me that when the boys got to school in the morning, Michael noticed that David's name was written on the board to be the helping hand for that day. Michael was so excited, he told Mrs. McClellan that it must mean that on Tuesday it would be Michael's turn to be the helping hand!
Helping hand is a big deal to all of the kids. The helping hand gets to hold the flag for the pledge, they get to update the calendar and get to be the line leader. David was really proud of himself.

Sweet Boys

Just had to tell everyone about Michael's dream. I just bought Michael and David Leap Pad's since they have such an interest in letters and the sounds they make. The day after they got the Leap Pad's, Michael tells me that he had a dream that they should give some of their toys away to other kids who don't have any toys! How sweet is that? I just might have to take him up on that.
Michael has a cold so he had to stay home while I took David to a My Gym playgroup. Michael was understandably sad when we left. I told Michael that we would bring him home a treat. We stopped at 7-11 to get Slurpee's, David said that since Michael was sick that he was the only one who needed a Slurpee to feel better, David said he didn't need a Slurpee. I told him he was very sweet to be looking out for his brother and for that he deserved a Slurpee also.
Connie, you should keep a listing of your real estate adventures on the blog. Someday when you are selling lots of houses it might be fun to look back at. I'm very proud of you for getting your license. Good luck with the open houses!

09-18-07

Today after lunch I took the boys to Watkins Park. We were not there 5 minutes when Michael yells "Mommy" in this funny voice. I went to him and he was holding his hand out saying that "it bit me". Turns out he had just been stung by a bee! He cried for a couple of seconds and that was pretty much it. He says the bee bit him because "I taste good". I kept an eye on him to see if was going to have any reactions to the sting, his had got a little swollen, but was otherwise OK. 2 hours later on our way home, he cried the whole way home saying how bad it hurt, I think he was just really tired and that was a good excuse for complaining.
After we got home, David and I were drawing with chalk in the driveway. He drew a stick figure of himself. He was very proud of it. Its really the first drawing of his that actually looks like what he intended! Now he loves to practice writing letters, "D" is his favorite.

Beautiful Day

Finally, I am caught up! What a great day today. Eric and our neighbor Slade went to a Raven's football game. The Raven's won and they had a great time. I met Sharon and the kids at her house for lunch, then we took all of the kids to a school to ride bikes in the parking lot. All of the kids had so much fun. It was a gorgeous day. There was a lot of bike swapping going on. Ben, David C. and Jessica wanted to ride David and Michael's tricycles and David and Michael wanted to ride the big bikes with training wheels. They rode and rode and rode and rode.
David fell off of his bike (for real) and when all of his friends rode over to make sure he was OK there was no turning back. David was on the ground every couple of minutes, all of the kids would pretend to be doctors, it was cracking us up. David C. was shouting "emergency, chapter 100", whatever that means. Of course then the other kids started pretend falling off their bikes. I think Michael would do it just to get a rest! One time Michael was on the ground, he had all of his "doctors" around him, David C. started with the "emergency, chapter 100" again, and David N. then gives his diagnosis---Michael has a "dirt shoe!"
It is so good to see the kids playing together. You get a real sense that they are all going to turn out to be really good people. I would see Ben getting off his Bike to give Jessica a push, kids swapping bikes with enthusiasm (in the beginning). They just seemed like really good kids.
After bike riding it was on to soccer camp (or mine and Sharon's version of it). We had the kids do relay races kicking the ball, they had a blast. Next was football camp. Now, soccer is really a little much for me--football forget it. I have no idea when it comes to football. My idea of getting them ready for a drill was to have them make a huddle, tell them what we were going to do and then we would all shout "ready - break". I'm sure it looked kind of silly, but we had fun. While I had the kids doing a drill, which included me tossing the ball to them, and them running around me to the back of the line, the rest of the kids in line would cheer on their teammate. It got to the point where when it was the next kid in line, they would say, "get ready to cheer me up". It was cracking me up. Michael loved the flag football portion, he was being chased for his flag when he tried to run to me laughing "Mommy, save me" We will see what happens when he someday plays football for real.
We finished up with more bike riding. All in all, those kids were non stop for about 3 hours. I was pooped out and I did not do a quarter of what they did. At least Sharon ran with Jessica during our football warm up! A funny thing during the bike riding, a strong gust of wind blew across the basketball court where the kids were riding. Poor David C. got caught in that gust. His feet were off the peddles and the peddles were just spinning like crazy because he was getting blown so fast. The poor kid had this look of terror on his face, he couldn't stop. Sharon turned around to try to save him and got wind and dirt in her eyes, I ended up grabbing him just as the wind died down as fast as it started. Sharon and I laughed so hard---I don't really think that David C. really thought it was as funny as we thought :)
On the way home, I asked the boys what was their favorite part of the day? They could not come up with just one part, they loved the whole day!

9/10/07 Car Accident

On 9/10/07 the boys had their first day of preschool. (actually they missed their first week because we were in Williamsburg). They love school and were going to have the same teachers that they had in the 3 year old program, Mrs. McClellan and Ms. Joann. Eric and I both took them to school, took pictures and wished them a great day. Eric left for a dentist appointment and I went to the grocery store.
Around 10:30am I left to go to the scapbooking store before picking up the boys (they were having a sale!) Only a few blocks from my house I was in a car accident. I'm not going to go into details on the Internet, but a lady made a left turn in front of me taking away my right away. Immediately after the accident I started having trouble breathing, and my neck hurt. A witness stopped and was able to find my cell phone on the floor. I was able to call Eric, he was just leaving the dentist office. Poor Eric, evidently my call went something like "I've been in an accident, my neck is hurt and I can't really breathe....click" I don't remember hanging up on him, but I was a little out of it and I know I was shaking. Immediately after hanging up with him, poor Connie calls. I answer and just say I've been in an accident and will have to call you back.
Eric shows up (probably seconds later) as I'm being put into the ambulance. I make sure he has my camera and tell him to ask the firefighters about the car seats to see if they are OK. He is able to get a hold of his brother Bruce, Bruce shows up at the accident scene and is able to take the Jeep to school and pick up the kids. He just tells the kids that mom and dad are running a few errand--what do the kids care---they get to play with Uncle Bruce. Eric meets me at the hospital where I'm basically treated and released.
I finally call Connie back who has been frantic during this time. She has seen on the news where there has been a terrible accident in Annapolis involving a fatality. Luckily she is able to talk to Bruce, so she found Ok that I was not in that terrible accident.
I think I slept for 2 days with all the medicine I was on. The boys were great, they thought it was pretty cool that the van got to ride on a tow truck. We now have a rental van, they think that's pretty cool too.
I am still recovering, I seem to be getting better, but I'm sure it will take time.

9/2/07 Williamsburg Trip

Overall, our Williamsburg trip was great. I love spending time with family and am so happy that the boys really do also. The highlight of our time there was of course the pool. I can't believe how good the boys are in the water. I don't let them see me go under water due to the fact that I have to hold my nose! I don't want them to get started doing that.
Mini golf was another hit. Michael gets a little frustrated, but only because he tries to do everything that Eric showed him to do. Because he tries to golf with correct form, it can be a little trying for a 4 year old. Michael would ask me if we could do a teamwork golf. Meaning that I would help him putt. We actually got a hole in one! Surprised all of us. David on the other hand could really care less about form. His objective was to just keep hitting the ball as fast as he could to make it to the next hole.
The Yankee Candle Factory was great. Eric and I were as excited as the boys to go there. We could not wait to see the look of excitement on their faces when the "hickory dickory doc house" opened up. I was able to wander and shop while Eric hung out with the boys taking it all in.
The kids had a good time making crafts for everyone. David remembered that a swan bit "Mom" and made her a swan fan. He also made a crayon fish for Great Dad. Michael made a crayon butterfly for Grandma and a "frustration" pencil for Granddad. They felt so proud handing out their gifts.
The hard part about Williamsburg was the fact that I had not seen my Grandmother in several months. I was really shocked at how she is doing. Even though I hear from Connie and mom about how she is doing, its still hard to see that its all true. I guess I just don't want to imagine that she is not doing great. I really miss our long conversations at the dining room table, they are some of my fondest memories with her. It just made me so sad that she is in bed for so much of the day. I still see her as the grandmother who gets around everywhere, who is the caretaker. She was always so independent. I hope that she gets strenght back so that she can get back to being her old self again. The hardest part was saying goodbye on the last day. I felt like I practically ran out of the condo. She was lying in bed and just seemed worn out. David was telling her that once we leave Williamsburg that he is really going to miss her. I did not want to break down in front of the kids, I don't think they could understand the sadness that I felt. Luckily Eric was able to keep them engrossed in conversation as we drove away and I cried. I cried for the grandmother that she used to be and the grandmother she is now. Eric tells me how lucky I am. Other than 1 grandmother, he never really knew all of his grandparents, much less his great grandparents. He is really happy that the boys are so close with all of our family. I sometimes feel sad that we did not have the boys earlier in life. I know that Eric is sorry that his Dad never knew the boys, he would have been such a proud grandfather. I am sorry that the boys probably won't know their great grand parents the way that Connie and I knew ours, we were lucky to have them with us for so long.
I am so thankful that we were able to be together in Williamsburg.

8-30-07 Dentist Appointment

Boy, I have not been doing a good job of posting, but I will try harder. I want to go back a little bit and post a few highlights (or low lights depending on how you look at it). Hopefully a few post will bring me up to date. Thanks Connie for posting, I need to figure out how to put pictures in :)

On 8-30-07 the boys had their first dentist appointment. They were so excited to go! They were both awesome getting their teeth cleaned. I was by myself because Eric and T were going to try to get some work done at home. I did not think it would be a big deal until the dentist told me that Michael's front tooth needed to be removed as soon as possible. My heart just stopped. The dentist said that evidently Michael had some time bumped his tooth which caused blood supply to be cut off and essentially killing the tooth. There was a very large abscess in the tooth that had not yet ruptured, but could at any time and when it did rupture it would be very painful. It was all I could do to not cry in the dentist office. I asked what the pros were to keeping the tooth, there was only 1, cosmetic. The cons went on and on. The abscess was sitting on his permanent tooth, if left it could damage the adult tooth: the pain of the abscess when it ruptures; possible serious infection when it ruptured; plus many more. I was so numb walking out of the office. Of course it was lunch time and the dentist was taking a break. He advised me to tell Michael that he just had a sick tooth that the dentist needed to look at after lunch. He said not to make a big deal about it, that Michael would deal with it just fine.
I came home and had to explain all of this to Eric. Luckily T kept the boys busy playing PlayStation. I felt so guilty about Michael having to loose his tooth even though I know there is nothing that I could have done. I just hate to have anything happen to my baby. Eric was upset as well, but we did not really have a choice in the matter. Eric took Michael back to the dentist. He called me about 1/2 hour later saying that Michael did not make a sound during the extraction (nitrous, and Novocaine!) Michael was so excited to tell David that the lost a tooth and that the tooth fairy was going to come, plus the dentist loaded him up with a big goodie bag. I had to put on my happy face for Michael, although it broke my heart to see him with that gappy smile.
Michael put his tooth under his pillow and woke up at 6am to find a quarter under his pillow from the tooth fairy. He was just beside himself! David was upset that he did not have a sick tooth.
Luckily we have all moved on. Michael is totally fine with missing a tooth, David is no longer sad that he doesn't have a sick tooth, and my heart doesn't drop every time I see Michael smile. He's such a trooper!

Justus Soccer

Justus had his 1st Scrimmage Saturday. He did good. So far he loves it, and gets upset when he doesn't make a goal. He is wearing the blue shirt. His game start in 2 weeks, so I will keep everyone posted. Wednesday will be his first day of school, he can't wait. I can't believe he's that old already. My little man. Love you guys

They Grow up to fast. That is so true. My baby girl is starting high school tomorrow. She not nervous tonight, but I'm nervous. What can I say, I'm a mom. This picture was taken last week when we went to visit JoJo, Gary, Gary and Jess. Britt and Jess ran thought the corn field together. It was a great day, but of course it made us all miss the West York area. But life continues and we are were we are for a good reason. Love you all,

Memories!

Today I was doing some cleaning and thinking of a time not so long ago that all my grandchildren were here at our house. What special cleaning job that gave me another opportunity to think of them? Cleaning the marks off the stairway wall! Don't get me wrong, I don't mind all the little scuff marks, that's easy to take care of. I just love having them all together or when ever I can spend time with any of them. I also think about them when we find a toy that was under a chair or something. It's such a shame that we all are separated by so many miles. Thank goodness for phones. We love to hear any little thing that is going on in their lives. It's wonderful that the kids really want to call and tell us what they've done.

Already we are looking forward to a vacation in Williamsburg, VA. It's a great gathering of family, I only wished we had more going with us. Maybe in the future we can arrange that.

Love to all!!!

School of fish

We had a really fun day today. I took the boys to meet Sharon and Claudia and the kids at the pool. This pool was really nice, it had a beach entrance that went up to 3 feet and a "water factory" in the middle of it that poured water down. All of the kids had a great time, of course I did not have my camera--and what great pictures I would have had :(

Eric has had the boys in the big pool all this week. Michael especially likes to jump in and go underwater. I think Michael spends much of his time under the water. David has not taken the plunge to jump in by himself, nor does he really care about going under water. Well that all changed today. All of the kids were putting their heads underwater. It was so funny how they would imitate each other. David C. (Sharon's David), put his hand on his head, yelled and fell back into the water, going under. All of the boys started doing that, it actually started getting a little hairy, so many kids going under water at the same time, on a good day its a challenge to keep up with all of them. With 6 kids, it was like a school of fish. David N. would swim under the water with his goggles on and grab my feet. I was so impressed by all of them.

Sharon reminded me of something that we both did as kids. An underwater tea party. I had forgotten all about doing that! After hearing that, Michael and David C. would stand face to face and go under water at the same time and wave to each other, it was great.

Its days like this that I'm thankful for good friends. I think its pretty cool that my kids and Sharon's (and Lauren and Sybil's) have been together since they were babies. It makes the days easier when you have someone going through similar trials.

After the pool we went to the Bass Pro Shop. I had to get a shirt for Eric, we have a mold inspection scheduled for Wednesday that he is able to go to with Chris and I. Now we all have the same CSI shirts. The boys loves Bass Pro Shop. There was a rock climbing wall with older kids (10 and up) climbing on it. The wall goes pretty high. It was cheap entertainment as we waited for the shirt to be embroidered. The boys cheered on all of the kids.

Tomorrow we are going to go to Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore. -- Stay tuned...

Boy My Life is Crazy!

But, I guess I bring it on myself. Two 4 year olds, a new dog, a new business, T having open heart surgery, our roof half done, scrapbooking, Eric painting the family room....need I go on? I am tired now, and would just like to go to bed, but I wanted to post because I know tomorrow will be just as crazy.
The reward system seems to be hit or miss. They are both up to 8 pennies each. Michael insist he is saving for Rita's, David on the other hand wavered tonight on whether he wanted to "spend" his on treats. He finally decided to save which made me happy, it will be a nicer trip to Rita's if they both get to go. If they don't both get to go I feel bad for whoever stays home with the other one :(
The boys got to talk on the phone a bit tonight. David really wanted to call Grandma and Granddad to tell them he tried a taco at Taco Bell. On the way to the pool, David mentioned he wanted to try a taco, I figured strike while the iron is hot. He tried a bite of both a hard and soft taco, but was not crazy about them--at least he did not spit it out which is a major achievement. Then he decided he wanted to try my Taquito (chicken and cheese on a flour tortilla grilled), he loved it and ate all of my dinner. I wasn't complaining, I was thrilled!
Then they got to talk to Justus. They were so excited to hear that he swam under water, they talked about it till they went to bed. I am so glad that the boys love each other so much. I'm glad you guys live close enough that they boys can really grow up knowing each other.
Eric's painting is coming along--slowly but surely. T is healing and doing well. The roofer will be here Thursday and all of the doors and windows will be in YEAH!
Chris Tucker and I met with Audrey Lee today to help us with advertising. She has so many great ideas and is putting so much work into our business, I really feel we are on the verge of something really good. Its a lot of time invested by all of us, but its our business and we want it to be successful and something we can be proud of. We already have another mold inspection lined up for this Wednesday. The client we did an inspection for 2 weeks ago wants us to do their new town house before they move in. Guess we made the customer happy, can't do more than that!
Well, I'm going to go watch an episode of Big Brother (I love reality TV). The only problem is, is that I'm at least 4 episodes behind, thank goodness for TIVO.
Love you guys

Brittany visit to the doctors

Yesterday Brittany had to go to the doctors to just get a shot, something that should just take 2 minutes. Not for us, 15. The nurse would ask her if she was ready and she would say yes, then jump to the side and yell NO NO Not Yet. This went on for several minutes. I tried to tell the nurse to just do it, but you can't put any thing past a 14 year old. She finally got it. I love the humour she brings to the day.

Rocky Gap

Today we went to Rocky Gap, such a beautiful day for it. Brittany spend most of the time tiring to catch fish that swam by her and working on her tan, with her friend Amber. I love watching them together because they act like little kids. Justus finally swam under water. Ok, so he was actually crawling on the bottom, but he did have his head all the way under. It's a start. Justus made friends with every kid that came within 10 feet of him, but this time he didn't give everyone our life story. I love you all, and miss everyone.

Happiness and sorrow

Today is our anniversary! Jerry and I have had many great years and are looking forward to many more. We have been blessed in so many ways, with each other and our families and friends. This man is the most wonderful, understanding, and caring person I have met, no one could ask for a better husband, or a better friend in live

Today is also a special day for me because my sister, Linda, went to be with our Lord just 2 years ago. She fought long and hard and is now at peace. She will always be in our hearts and prayers. I just want to say a special "Hi Sis, I miss you". But I don't want to be selfish because she is where she worked hard to get to, so someday we will be together again along with all our other loved ones.

Reward System

I thought that I would fill you guys in on a reward system that Eric and I are trying to implement. We can't take the whining or the "I want Mommy to do it" anymore. We have come up with a system that if we ask the boys to do something (take off your shoes and socks and put them in your room for example) and they do it right away without whining or complaining then they will get a penny. They can save up their pennies for prizes. 3 pennies gets you a fruit roll up or some other candy type treat. 6 pennies gets you a match box car. 10 pennies gets you a trip to Rita's. (Michael says he's saving all of his pennies for Rita's.

This worked great the first time we asked the boys to take off their shoes and socks, put them in their room and then wash hands. David and Michael each got a penny. Later that night, getting ready for baths, I had taken off Michael's clothes and asked him to put them in the hamper--he threw the clothes down saying "No, you do it". I then calmly asked David to take his clothes to the hamper, he scooped them up, ran down the hall, put them in the hamper, ran back saying what a good helper he was. This earned him a penny. When Michael saw that, he immediately scooped up his clothes ran them to the hamper, ran back and asked for his penny. I told him that he did not earn a penny because of his behavior. He was devastated, you would have thought I told him he would have to skip Christmas. He cried and cried until finally of course I felt terrible. I did not give in and told him that maybe tomorrow he could have better behavior and earn more pennies.

Then of course it seemed like things had calmed down until the boys were getting ready for bed and David asked if we were going to Rita's in their PJ's? He just figured I would give him the rest of the pennies and then we would go. Guess they are going to finally learn the meaning of patience by having to earn something. Stay tuned to see if it works!

Things Michael says

This will probably be a steady topic of mine. Michael is always coming up with something that shocks us, makes us laugh, or makes us think. On Saturday we were all going to an FOP Cookout. I turned on a "Junie B Jones" CD for the boys hoping that Eric and I could have a few minutes of much needed conversation. Out of know where Michael says "Mommy, maybe when I'm bigger I can go to Kinko's with Mr. Chris". Well, this just floored us. Eric and I talked about Chris and I going to Kinko's probably 2 weeks ago. Of course we had no idea that Michael heard or cared about our conversation. Chris and I had been to Kinko's to purchase business cards and letterhead for our company.

Eric says he envisions Michael's brain like a merry go round. There are all of these ideas going round and round in his head. You just never know when the merry go round is going to stop and one of his thoughts is going to get off.

This is great!

I will try to add a post although our lives are pretty boring compared to the both of you. At least it will give me some good reading and it's great to have it all in black and white so that we never forget the smallest things of life.

Love to all,
Mother

Just wanted to let you know I recieved this

Hi, this is different, but I think it's great idea. I will try to post daily, it's should be fun. I love you guys and just want to let you know I got this message.
Connie

First post

Well, this is my first attempt at creating a blog. I talk so much with my mom and sister on the phone, but I thought it might be fun for us to have a place to permanently put our thoughts, feelings and funny things that have happened during the day. We each lead such busy lives, I thought it would be neat to be able to share with each other in this format.

My thinking is that we can each try to post something daily. It could just be a one liner with something funny that happened, or a way to express your feelings. Lets give it a try.

Love you guys,
Beth