WEEK IN REVIEW

Memorial Day weekend proved to be a very busy one for me! I went and saw Elton John and Billy Joel in concert on Saturday in Cleveland. My high school friend, Kathy, and I had a fantastic time. It was a solid 3.5 hours of popular songs. The whole crowd sang and danced the entire time. Elton was dressed to impress with sequins and Billy was jumping all over the piano claiming to be Billy Joel's father b/c he looked old. So exciting. I definitely recommend going to this concert.

Off to Pittsburgh we went on Sunday for the family reunion, ARCHFEST. It was in a Pittsburgh park which would typically be great, however, the rain and thunderstorms set in right as we arrived. We ended up sitting in the minivan for awhile which drove the girls crazy. I wondered yet again why I bothered to straighten my hair in the morning. What a mess! It ended up being a decent day and Madeline had fun driving around the pond on her bigwheel. She tried to keep up with the big kids, but those legs of hers can only move so fast. Meredith did her best to ride around as well, but she does it Flintstone style. She got tired much quicker. We had lots to eat at the picnic especially the numerous brownie plates. Luckily, I decided to bring something other than a brownie (cupcakes and better than almost anything cake). Matt's favorite part of the picnic was buying the extra kielbasa.

After the picnic we headed to Dad and Deb's for another cookout and to spend the night. The girls got to experience their first smores. Dad built a fire in the chiminea and roasted his marshmallows. What a mess the girls made!! They were delicious. Dad and Matt went to rent a movie and came back with Slumdog Millionaire which I had refused to rent(I didn't want to be depressed by how children in India live). Oh well, I guess I had to watch it since they rented it. HAHA. It ended up being a good movie, but still disturbing.

On Monday, we celebrated my Dad's birthday and Memorial Day. The girls were excited to put on tattoos for the event and place flags around the flowers. We even convinced Matt to put one on his hand. :)

Thursday was Madeline's official last day of school. She had a picnic that Matt and Meredith also attended. There were jump arounds for them to play in. Apparently, Meredith was so excited to get in and jump until more and more kids crowded in and scared her. As she clutched to the side of the nets, she screamed for DADDY DADDY DADDY! Matt then had his own permanent leech stuck to him while Madeline had a blast.

I have included some more videos of the ducks again. We got to enjoy all these males ducks pursuing one female duck. It was like 45 minutes of entertainment. I even called the neighbors to have them come out and enjoy. The darn males ducks were perched atop the neighbor's garage. Who knew a duck to do this?!? The show ended after all 4 kids were chasing the poor things around, I guess kids trying to catch you was more pressing then getting the girl . Click here for all the photos!

The Ross Experience Turns 1-Year Old

It's hard to believe that something we conceived out of boredom on a random Thursday last May has lasted this long, but alas, here we are. Thanks to all the readers eager to find out about what's going on in the lives of the Ross family. We hope you keep coming back over the next year as we strive to provide the quality Ross content you desire.

Developing stories over the next year...

• Edwin turns 1-year old
• Mindy and Dave join the gym
• Madeline and Meredith keep growing
• Dave's musings on the lack of new decade hype and scorekeeping at miniature golf
• New Ross contributors to the blog?
• Hard-hitting investigative report on parking in Newport
• Steelers look to defend their Super Bowl title
• Lowering your cholesterol without medication
• SYTYCD coverage to replace AI updates?
• "Where are they now?" feature on one-time guest blogger Ryan Scalf

Stay tuned!

Beer, Sweet Beer

OK, so Mindy's been buckling down on the nutrition front, and I'm all for it. One recommendation from her doctor was to focus on her alcohol intake. To which she responded with something along the lines of, "no worries, I haven't had a drop since I found out I was pregnant back in Oct of '07". And the doc came back with, "I know, I want you to start having 1 drink per day".

So here it is, her first adult beverage in 19 months:

The plan is drinking a beer each night with dinner. We started with a Dundee variety pack, on sale right now at Cincinnati-area Krogers @ $12 for a 12-pack (thanks for the recommendation, Jason). Although Mindy has become a slightly less cheap date, I'm thinking it'll be more fun to have someone to share a beer with.

P.S.: It's not just beer, that's tilapia on her plate. Yes, that's right, Mindy is now allowing fish into the Ross house!

First Full Night Away from Edwin

Last night, thanks to Grandma Nikki and Mike, Dave and I were able to enjoy a night "off!" I dropped Edwin off a little before noon yesterday and we will go pick him up around noon today...we went to a friend's wedding and enjoyed being babyless for a few hours. We also took the dog to the boarder for her summer haircut. The house is eerily quiet - no dog, no baby, NOTHING!

I think I handled the situation surprisingly well. I only called my mom twice to check in...once last night before we left for the wedding and once this morning when I woke up. Both times she answered "He's Fine!" I knew he would be...I called for me, not him!!!

So, perhaps this will become a monthly event - Edwin will go visit Grandma while Dave and I get some quality NO BABY time...who knows???

Edwin Mimics Sedona

HOT in NOKY

It is getting hot already in NOKY...so I bought Edwin some tank undershirt onsies...I think they are too funny! What do you think?

One Minute and Thirty-Nine Seconds in the Life of Edwin Randall Ross 5.23.09

WEEK IN REVIEW

What a week it has been!! I finally got around to weeding my flower bed. Weeding is an understatement. The pictures demonstrate the jungle I had growing there!! Madeline and Meredith were excited to "help". Dirty gloves and mommy's shirt were frequent connections. Got to love kids! We also planted many flowers after we cleaned it all up. The girls are in charge of watering them each night. Who knew they would like that job.
Then one night we discovered we have yet another bird family visiting our backyard. This time it is a bunch of ducks. They waddled from left to right, back to left. It was hilarious. Madeline wouldn't step off the driveway b/c she was scared. Matt and Meredith went chasing after them. So funny. Yesterday, Madeline had her "year in review" program reliving all the songs that she had learned throughout the school year. It was so cute. The one kid in front of Madeline stood and yawned and scratched his head the whole time...NO SINGING!! Madeline's allergies were terrible and she spent most of the "down time" wiping it. Yuck!

Today was the last swim lesson day for the summer. YES YES YES. It was hotter than ever. We had the sliding glass door open and then 10 minutes before the end, a nun walked through. She scolded us for having it open when they don't have a screen door. "The bugs are getting in". I have been there for 18 weeks. I have NEVER seen a bug come in there. After she left, a father re-opened it, but we both agreed that we are still secretly afraid of her. (having flashbacks from grade school)

We will be seeing many people this weekend! I am off to Elton John/Billy Joel concert tomorrow. YAY!!

Quote of the Day

Adam Carolla, today on his podcast, discusses the futility of the NFL's code of player conduct ever effecting change in the actions of its players:

A lot of these crimes are...at the club, get drunk, guy pushes me, I take a swing at him. How do you prevent that? That's not premeditated. It's not like these guys are international jewel thieves.

Edwin is great with the ladies...already!

This is from Edwin's playdate with Maggie today...they are only a week apart in age so they make best buddies!!! They were TOO CUTE!!!

IDOL FINALE 5.20.09

So, I was completely wrong...what a let down win. The only good thing is that Adam will never have to sing that awful finale song again! Now I'm ready for So You Think You Can Dance to start...what a fun season American Idol was. Melinda, Mary Lou and I are sure to enjoy the AI concert in Pittsburgh in August!!! I can't wait!!!

IDOL Reverse Power Rankings 5.19.09

ROUND 1: Kris

ROUND 2: Adam

ROUND 3: ??? - I hated the song...if I were forced to choose, I'd pick Adam.

WINNER OF SEASON 8 AMERICAN IDOL

...DRUMROLL PLEASE...

ADAM

UPDATE: James Harrison

He's not budging: "I'm not going because I don't want to go".

James Harrison, linebacker/philosopher

For the 2nd time in 4 years, the Steelers' Super Bowl victory is rewarded with an invitation to the White House. And for the 2nd time in 4 years, James Harrison declines that invitation:

This is how I feel--if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don't win the Super Bowl, as far as I'm concerned he [Obama] would've invited Arizona if they had won.

I could make some sarcastic comments regarding the master of logic that is James Harrison, but I'll let blogger Chris Chase do the honors:

Usually, when a sentence begins with "as far as I'm concerned," it ends with an opinion, not an incontrovertible fact. Harrison's comment is akin to saying, "As far as I'm concerned, George Washington was the first president."

Of course the Cards would have received the White House invite if they had won. Winners get to go meet the president, losers don't. They also get the trophy, the parade and those hats that say "Super Bowl champs". I don't think James Harrison turned down any of those things, which makes his refusal to go to the White House a tad hypocritical.

When  Harrison won the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award, he didn't decline and say, "As far as I'm was [sic] concerned, they would've given this award to someone else if they had had a better defensive season then me". And when he scored that touchdown in the Super Bowl after returning an interception 100 yards, I'm pretty sure Harrison didn't tell the ref to take the points off the board because, as far as he was concerned, if Larry Fitzgerald had caught him, Harrison wouldn't have scored.

Thanks, James!

Photo Contest - Yep, I'm Trying Again...

You have been invited to view my Magazine Cover Contest (3 mos - 2 yrs) photo gallery on Parents.com. Please use the link below to view, rate, and recommend my photos!

check out Edwin's pictures...

Gallery Link:

Edwin Walking---The Beginning...(5.16.09)

Cheerios, Sweet Cheerios

As many of you may know, Cheerios have been a staple of 90+% of my breakfasts for probably 5-6 years now. Sure, I'll rotate a box of Grape-Nuts or Honeycomb every now and again, but I always bring it back home to Cheerios.

Well, recently on 1 of those change-of-pace benders, I mixed in a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. Not only did they taste delightful, but since I hadn't had them in about 18 years, they brought back memories of sleepovers at my friend Justin's house (where Honey Nut Cheerios was just 1 of the everyday pleasantries I got at his house & not mine, like watching Cops & playing Sega Genesis).

Well, this change evolved from temporary to permanent because I was enjoying Cheerios of the Honey Nut variety so much. And who cares anyway--I had glanced at the nutrition summary, and it was pretty much the same at the regular. But after a few weeks of Honey Nut bliss, I started to get suspicious. So I re-checked the nutrition info, and here's what I got:

Regular Cheerios, 1 serving:

• 100 calories
• 2g fat
• 1g sugar

Honey Nut Cheerios, 1 serving:

• 110 calories
• 1.5g fat
• 9g sugar

OK, so the calories & fat are basically a wash, and Honey Nut's got way more sugar. But I barely eat any sugar as it is, so a little extra in the AM to kick start my day won't hurt, right?

Then, I take a closer look, and I find something so shocking, that my confidence in Cheerios, General Mills, and the entire breakfast food industry has been shaken to its core:

Serving size:

• Regular - 1 cup
• Honey Nut - 3/4 cup

What?!?!

I'm beside myself.  How can a cereal maker I've trusted so much with my health be so deceitful? I calm myself down and calculate the nutrition stats of Honey Nut for a 1 cup serving size. Here are the restated numbers:

• 145 calories
• 2g fat
• 12g sugar

So it's easy to see, rather than being pretty much the same, these 2 Cheerios flavors have vastly different levels of healthiness. And since 3/4 of a cup of Honey Nut will get you about 3/4 full as a full cup of regular, I can only assume that General Mills is intentionally trying to mislead its customers.

(So it comes as no surprise, that they were recently busted for fabricating cholesterol-lowering benefits of their products.)

Conclusion: I love Cheerios and will not stop eating the regular or Honey Nut variety.

WEEK IN REVIEW

We were so excited to have family come visit us this weekend. The girls just go nuts over visitors. Saturday I had to work in the morning (agreed to cover before knowing all the events that would occur). After I arrived home from work, Leanna's brunch transformed into lunch. Man was I hungry , and that food hit the spot :) The girls got to play with the "boys". Well, they played and the boys crawled , sat, rolled, etc. Jackson probably was overwhelmed with all the activity. Edwin found a new talent of crawling up and down a step, actually just mastered going up. Madeline and Meredith also found climbing up and down steps to be a load of fun. Leanna had a double sided staircase which they adored.

Later that day we had more family arrive (Papa, Deb, Dottie, Mark, Sarah, and Great Grandma). As Mindy said, Matt did a great job grillin' for us. Very tasty. We sang happy birthday to Grandma since we never completed that on the actual day. Sarah played with Madeline and Meredith all night. They loved it. We even found a meal that Sarah would eat. It was the first time EVER that she actually liked something we had.

On Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day at a buffet catered by Blue Wolf. It was delicious!!! I am still wanting to go back for more chicken alouette. YUM!! That evening Matt again grilled for us and once again tasty. We gave Grandma her birthday and Mother's day gifts. We all went together to give her a new camera. Hers was soooo slow that she rarely got the shot. We were so excited and of course that damn thing doesn't work! Are you and electronics cursed , Mary Lou? We quickly exchanged it and will be giving over the new, working camera tonight. Matt and I are actually going to the movies (Star Trek). The last movie we went to was Superman Returns. Now that is pathetic.

I have finally hung my mother's day gifts, hanging baskets. They are so pretty. Now the daily watering begins. Can someone install a hose system that will do it for me?

On Wednesday, my dad finally sold his house in Canfield. After many money pit fixes, it is now officially off his hands and pocketbook. As he said, there were many great memories that took place at that house. I will always enjoy those. No more "prom mulch". Of course , I could start that up for our girls. HAHA.

I will also mention that Matt has been working to change his diet/lifestyle. We are all proud of him!! Maybe he will post how things are going?!? HINT HINT.

Edwin and Sedona - Best Buddies!!!

Uh-Oh

Businessinsider.com lists America's Most Depressing Places and coming in at a solid #5 is Ohio's own Mahoning Valley.

Thanks!

Thanks, Mindy & Melinda, for keeping the posts coming whilst I've been distracted. I promise more consistency in a few weeks...

Updated Photo Albums

April and May photo albums have been updated! There are a ton of pics as normal...enjoy if you have time!

A Couple More from the Zoo

Edwin 11 Months Old

In just one month - we will be celebrating a VERY BIG DAY, Edwin's 1-year birthday! It is unbelievable...it is getting harder and harder to get Edwin to cooperate with pictures...so here are a couple 11-month old shots:

IDOL Reverse Power Rankings 5.12.09

3- Danny
2- Kris
1- Adam

We Went to the Zoo, Zoo Zoo!!!

Today was Edwin's first trip to the Zoo. Thanks to Grandma Nikki and Mike, we have a membership and LOVED it!!! We can't wait to go back again - and take Dave!!! It was a perfect day! We went with Cassie and her daughter Amelia. We got some good exercise walking the strollers up and down all of those crazy Cincinnati hills...and I got a few fun photos.

Mother's Day Celebration

We spent Mother's Day weekend in Canfield. We arrived late on Friday night. On Saturday, Edwin had his first bath in a real bath tub...he LOVED it!!!Dave went to a bachelor party in Clevelend and we had a playdate and lunch at the Kemble's house. Jackson is sooooo cute! It won't be long and him and Edwin will be playing like big boys! Jackson is 6 months old - look at him compared to Edwin...I think he's going to be one big guy!!! Edwin will probably always be jealous about that!

Afterward, we went back to Matt and Melinda's for a cookout. It was delicious!!! Matt is a grill'n machine! and all VERY HEALTHY - THANKS Matt!!! We went back to Grandma's house and I found my Mother's Day card and present from Edwin - a spa gift certiciate and a coupon for a day off!!! What a nice son (AKA: husband) I have...I'm so thankful! I LOVE being a mom...it is the one thing I've always known that I wanted and I feel blessed to have such an amazing family.

On Sunday, we went to Mass - and yes, Dave made it to church! Afterward we went the Blue Wolf for Mother's Day lunch. It was really good...thanks to Matt and Dave for organizing that. We went home to rest up and went back to Matt and Melinda's for more playtime, gifts (Mother's Day and Grandma's Birthdy) and dinner...again DELICIOUS!!!

On Monday, we headed back to KY. After a couple little stops (lunch, rest stop diaper change, pick up Sedona, etc), we finally made it back...HOME SWEET HOME! What a great weekend trip! Since it was going to get cold last night - I wanted to shut all of our windows. I went upstairs to shut the office window and when Ireached to close the blind - I found a bird sitting on our blind - INSIDE our house. We still haven't figured out how it got in or how long it was in here...but I trapped it in a trashcan and dumped it outside...yes I had to do it...Dave wouldn't go near it...too funny! Wish I would've had a hidden camera for that one!!!

WEEK IN REVIEW

This past weekend we traveled down to Columbus for Uncle Chris's graduation from the University of Dayton (master's degree). What terrible driving weather!! Torrential downpours on and off for the majority of the trip. Megan calling telling us that there is a tornado warning. Semis splashing water falls on the windshield. Oh my! Thank goodness for DVD players in vehicles. The girls were intent on watching Madeline. Anyways, we arrived safely to our hotel and ran into our famous ... goose couple. We can't seem to shake them!

Matt and the girls got to play at the mall instead of the graduation ceremony. Apparently, Madeline was showing off her jumping techniques and then promptly landed awkwardly. She is still complaining that her foot is sore. The actual ceremony was quick and painless, but Chris didn't pose for the camera as the girls in his class knew to do. HA!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Chris and Megan's house eating and eating and eating. It was beautiful weather that day. The girls did their best to avoid the dog. Meredith did abdominal crunches lifting her legs straight up each time someone tried to sit her on the floor. Incredible talent.

Sunday we visited our friend, Dave, on our way out of town. They had a dog 1/10 the size of Megan's. (a yorkie) Well, after seeing its hyper greeting and eye to eye meeting, Meredith was PETRIFIED!!! It was hilarious to see her shake like that. Needless to say, the dog was held the entire time we visited :)

Since we missed the big day, we went out to eat with Grandma Ross for her birthday on Monday night. We will have another celebration this weekend when Dave, Mindy, and Edwin arrive.

Madeline got to go back to school this week. Everyone missed her which made her feel special. I got an early Mother's Day gift from her, a flower pot. She had sponge-painted it. So nice !!

Madeline also got to go to swim lessons today. When I looked down there, I saw her on the side of the pool. Hmmm, she was in time out! I figured it out when she kept staring at me with that "I'm in trouble" pout. Apparently, she was told to stay on the steps, and she didn't listen. Gee, that sounds awfully similar to what I stressed to her in the car on the way there. She is just too brave.

I have now uploaded Madeline's camera photos from April and May. Click here to view them. I have also uploaded all of the photos from Matt's birthday through graduation, click here to see them.