WEEK IN REVIEW

What a long, fun-filled week off that Matt and I had!! I am thankful to have had the weekend to recover :) Megan and Chris got into town on Wednesday to travel to Oil City that afternoon. We got to visit both Grandmas. Betsy cooked us a very tasty meal (hamloaf, sweet potatoes, scalloped potatoes, mixed veggies, breads, jello salad, etc my faves!). Jill and David were also home so the girls got to play with their cousins too! After eating my favorite pie, pecan, we were off to the nursing home to visit my Grandma Marge (and Bob, Lou, Michael, and Liz). They had a room with a table that we got to visit and eat cheesecake! So much good food, but it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. Lou Ann got to sit on the floor to play some Crazy Eights!

Thanksgiving morning was filled with food preparations and then we were off to Pittsburgh for the day. We ate our meal at Papa and Deb's house. It was delicious!! The best turkey that I think that I have had in a while. We come to find that Papa had bought a fresh, young turkey and that is why he unknowingly paid the higher price tag. Totally worth it.

The girls always look forward to seeing Ellen and Craig (my step-siblings). We once again had plenty of food to eat and yummy desserts to top it off. A new twist was biscotti and an almond torte that Deb made. Both were delicious! But we weren't done yet, it was off to Matt's grandmother's house for a non-eating meal. I was too stuffed to even consider it. The girls managed to eat Grandma Mary Lou's apple pie. They loved it.

We did NOT go shopping on Friday. Megan and Chris and the family went to a new Middle Eastern restaurant for lunch. It was very good. Madeline even ate 2 stuffed grape leaves, one of my favorites. We ended their visit with a trip to Salsita's. YUM!

I put up all the Christmas decorations on Saturday with the help (or hindrance) of the girls. I was dying of heat , so I wore a tank top. HAHA.

Today, Matt and I finished up our outside work (mowing, leaf removal, changing light bulbs, putting up Christmas lights). Now it is time to RELAX.... aahh.. Dang, I have to work tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I am reminded of the many things I am thankful for - most notably my husband and best friend, my son, my family and my friends.

We celebrated Thanksgiving by eating too much, probably like many of our readers. First we went to Grandpa Randy's - turkey, stuffing, oyester stuffing, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, fruit salad, deviled eggs and pumpkin pie...and then to Grandma Nikki's for a repeat and second helping and a few new items (eg: sweet potatoes and pecan pie). Edwin ate like a champ all day - LOVED the potatoes (mashed and sweet). He also loved the fruit salad...and of course he loves all of the desserts! He is my child after all! He fell asleep on our way home, but woke up long enough to read his 3 favorite books before going to bed.

We are sure going to miss Dave tomorrow - since we stayed in town this year, he is going to work. I might brave the crowds and take Edwin shopping after breakfast...MIGHT...but probably won't.

We hope all of our readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving...surrounded by the ones you love and the ones who love you - whether in thought or in-person. God Bless!

How much I want to buy a Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado or Dodge Ram over the course of a typical year

What I’m thankful for

• family
• friends
• football in HD
• unsalted almonds
• public transportation
• Daytum.com
• text message updates to Twitter which updates Facebook
• video on my Blackberry
• all the things Mindy’s taught Edwin
• Brian Kelly’s remaining time in Cincinnati
• our paid-off Lumina
• Bartlett pears when they’re in season
• Sprint NFL Mobile when the Steelers aren’t on TV here
• our new bed
• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
• video baby monitor
• not that cold yet Newport fall weather
• vlookup formula in Excel
• again, family

What’s new with me

So I got your standard variety fall/winter cold a few weeks back. No big thing: coughing, sneezing, runny nose for a week or so. But then the cough didn’t go away. Couldn’t make it through the night with having a 8-10 minute coughing session. Got banished to the couch so the rest of the fam could actually get some sleep.

I realize (read: Mindy tells me) that it’s time to see a doctor. Bronchitis. Ouch. Apparently, viral infections have the tendency to swoop in for 7-10 days then leave bronchitis in their wake. So with the help of a slow-acting steroid inhaler, I was back from the couch a few days later.

During this 3-week minor ordeal my attention to nutrition & exercise really went off the rails. For some reason I only craved red meat & carbs. A bad combo. And of course my bronchitis-weakened lungs weren’t up to exercising. This was unfortunate because I was halfway into my 10-K training program when I got sick. I’ll be missing tomorrow’s 100th annual Thanksgiving Day Race.

Tonight was my first day at the gym for an extremely long time. And I’m finally getting back into the healthy eating swing of things. I know, just in time for Thanksgiving—healthy eating should be easy. Wish me luck.

Edwin Eye

Okay - so this is the best shot I could get...Edwin isn't understanding sit still, look at mama, and let the camera get really close to your face...hahahaha...

WEEK IN REVIEW

Matt and I have begun our week off from work! YAY FOR US! This break is much needed for both of us, however, we do have quite a bit of turkey day related events to attend. On Friday, Meredith and I decided to go to Target while Madeline was at school. I was actually able to buy some Christmas presents and she didn't even notice!!! This will be the last year getting away with this. I bought the girls new winter hats. So cute!!!

Saturday was our poker night at our house. Grandma was so kind to take the girls for an overnighter!! Madeline and Meredith were looking forward to going there from the moment they awoke. Are we going yet? Are we going yet? This is why we don't inform them until the last minute. They "helped" us set up the basement for the festivities. I asked for their best poker faces, but instead got funny faces. Matt better get on the instruction of poker soon.

The girls got to go out to dinner with Grandma, watch movies, and make cookies!! How spoiled they are. They also came home with a backpack full of books. We of course had to read each one right there and then. They LOVE books! Thanks, Grandma!

Today we were off to another birthday party at the bowling alley. It was our neighbor boy, Caden. This trip was way better than our last. Matt got to suffer through watching the Steelers lose on the screen next to the bowling scores. The bowling alley is all decked out in a game room, a snack bar, and a full service bar. What a way to spend the afternoon. Anyone interested in bowling the next time that you are home?

We wish everyone that we won't see this holiday a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Where is Dave?

We miss his posts!!!

I HEART MOM!!!

WEEK IN REVIEW

Another beautiful week for us up in NE Ohio. The girls got to spend of alot of time outdoors, which is a necessity to tire them out! That playset gets used most months out of the year and provides a lot of fun. What a purchase! However it is a haven for rabbit pellet poop under the swings. So gross!! Apparently under the yellow swings are the exact location of their restrooms.

I finally decided to trim up Meredith's hair. Maybe I was spurred on by Edwin's recent de-rat-tailing haha. I evened out the back in hopes of a bob to emerge. It doesn't look to badly. See what you think.

Papa came over for lunch on Friday so the girls each decided to draw a chalk picture of him. Madeline did all of hers and I drew the circle for a head for Meredith. Meredith said that she drew Papa dancing!! Check out the mustaches. HA.

We finally had a morning to do our Halloween eyeball cookies that Grandma gave us. The girls did pretty well helping out. I needed to assist in the decorating part, but they did a great job trying. Meredith decided that she would eat the dripping icing off the cooling racks.

And in the theme of eyeballs, I decided to take a photo of each of our eyes. I was just curious to see if there were any similarities. And the whole time I am looking at these shots I am singing, "I always feels like, somebody's watching me...whoah".

Night Ranger, STYX & REO Speedwagon

Dave and I went to the new Bank of Kentucky Center last night for the Night Ranger, STYX & REO Speedwagon concert. It was a great concert...especially STYX! Special thanks to AJ (Aunt Jessica) for watching Edwin for us so that we could enjoy a night out!

WEEK IN REVIEW

I almost forgot to do the post...haha. The Sunday thing is throwing ME off. Matt and I got to go on a date this week while Grandma watched the girls. We went to the Daughtry concert at the Covelli Center in Youngstown. He had 2 opening bands that were okay, but I couldn't wait until Chris Daughtry came out to rock the house... and he didn't disappoint. We are talking over the top firework explosions, huge flames, and raining cinders decorating the stage!!! He was fantastic and very engaging with the audience. Mental note for next concert: bring earplugs. Man was that loud!

The next night I went to the Open House for Something New (our local florist/gift shop). That place is Christmas overload covering every spare inch of space. The incentive for going to this is the cookies, wines, mini sandwiches, dips, etc that they let you sample. I did leave with some gifts for people that might be reading this. HEE HEE.

Friday was the busiest day for me in a long time. It began with picture day for Madeline. Which means that I have to do a little bit more than just throw some clothes onto her. She looked so cute (I bought the dress the night before... Mindy I bought the Christmas dresses, too. I couldn't resist). Meredith and I ran to the eye doctor to pick up my replacement part and transported it the eye repair lab. All this hassle for a 2 minute repair! Then back to get Madeline from school. We ate lunch and were back on the road for Madeline's final session for swimming lessons. She practically had a private lesson again with her doing kneeling dives into the deep end and swimming to the ladder!!! What progress she has had. :) Then from swimming we were off to Lenscrafters for a followup visit with the new contacts. We ended the evening with a dinner at Steamers. YUM!

Because we had fantastic weather this weekend, we were able to rake leaves again. Yay... not! I hired my slave labor as I photographed the event. HAHA. Despite my better allergy-wise judgement, I let the girls jump into the leaf piles.

As we were headed to the mall for a quick look around, Matt volunteered to take the girls to the play area. Meredith asked if they were taking a trip to the potty first (b/c this is how it goes during the week when he takes them, potty then play). Matt said, no, and then Madeline said, "I don't have to go potty. I don't have any pee in my bladder." I am so proud. :)

Just Relaxing

Trick-or-Treat

We spent Trick-or-Treat in Canfield this year and had a blast! Edwin loved seeing Grandma, Uncle Matt, Aunt Melinda, and Cousins Madeline and Meredith. We also got to go to Jack's 1-year birthday party...a busy weekend and much too short!

WEEK IN REVIEW

We had a great weekend with Grandma, Aunt Mindy, Uncle Dave, Eddie, Papa, and Deb. It was all the Halloweening we could get our hands on. HA. Friday we finally got around to carving our pumpkins!!! (after eating at Salsita's of course! Thank you , Grandma). I had found these Mr. Potato Head type things that you put right into the pumpkin. This worked out really well and really cute! Meredith placed the ears in a location that was quite hilarious to us. She looked at Grandma real seriously and said, "it ok, it ok". She was also the creative design on the shapes of the pumpkin above with Mindy.

Madeline would help me de-gut the insides, but Meredith would have nothing to do with that. Miss Cleanliness all of the sudden! Our favorite quote of the night was when Mindy asked Madeline which way the single eyebrow should go on her pumpkin and Madeline replied I want it the surprised way!

Saturday morning I got myself a pair of contacts to try out (b/c my glasses broke and I have no back-ups). Soon after my doctor visit, we were off to celebrate Jackson Kemble's 1st birthday... Halloween style of course. The girls were wearing their costumes, but the adults didn't. Whew! Madeline and Meredith really enjoyed themselves especially playing with new toys. Meredith got freaked out by the moving head/tail rocking horse. She wouldn't even go near the thing, "it has BAD EYES". :)

After some dinner at our house, we were off to trick or treat. It was a bit chilly, so Edwin spent his time in the wagon under a blanket. Man was I jealous of that!! We went around with the neighbor boys , Caden and Zach. The girls lasted longer than the boys... I was shocked. I just went through their loot, and I am sure we will have enough candy for the rest of the year.

This morning we did our final farewells of Halloween weekend at Bob Evans (thank you Papa and Deb).

Oh but we weren't done yet! The last stop on Halloween weekend was to Nanny Karen's house. We were just too busy on the day of, so we visited today. We got to wear the costumes 3 days in a row. Does it make it worth the price I paid for Madeline's costume? OF COURSE!!