WEEK IN REVIEW

We have purchased a new SLR camera. YAY!! Wow, what an investment that turned out to be. I won't be needing any gifts in a while :) I am still learning the ins and outs of this can be complicated, can be easy device. It took me a 1/2 hr or more just to figure out which software to use for photo editing. Man! I need Mindy here to give me a tutorial, I think! I am including some of my photos, but you will notice that I have yet to master focusing. This week began with Muffins with Mom (or Grandma) and ended with Donuts with Dad. Matt and Madeline had to sit in the itty bitty tables (there were only 2, and they got stuck with them). And the pair they sat with was the boy who doesn't talk who has a foreign grandfather you couldn't understand. HAHA. Oh the sacrifices we make. Look on the bright side , Matt, you had the day off from work for this! We also signed Madeline up for all day Kindergarten at the same school ... and ... Meredith is officially signed up for 3 year old preschool. I hope she improves her speech by then.The girls have been just busy with all the new toys from Christmas and Birthdays. They especially are fond of the dollhouse that Dottie and Mark passed along to us. What an imagination these two have. Also from Dottie, the zhu zhu hamsters are always running around the ground. Yikes! They are quite realistic. The stores are finally carrying the accessories so I bought the girls the hamster balls for them to run inside. The girls chose to wear them as hats in the above photo. Meredith has been in the mood for screaming or screeching whenever she doesn't get her way. WOW!! It is sooo loud. I caught it in action with my new camera !

Adult Decisions

No, I'm not talking about getting prego - although, I guess that is an adult decision too...I'm talking about how to spend money.

I remember when money came and went without too much thought. We didn't have a house, a kid (one on the way) and only one income. Not that I would change any of the choices we've made...in fact, I'm just beginning to think we're getting the hang of this whole "adult" thing.

Since we moved into our house in October 2005, we have replaced the central air (2007), hot water heater and main gas line (2008), and now our furnace (installed last weekend). We are finally starting to feel like we are getting organized...our first floor is pretty productive - we invested in a new toy bench and an entry way table (with 2 drawers for quick mail organization), my girlfriend (Cassie) came and helped me reorganize the kitchen cabinets, Edwin is now using a booster seat instead of the bulky high-chair, I emptied out the china cabinet and am using it for scrapbook supply storage in the dining room, and I'm sure there is more...our upstairs is a work in progress. My dad came down today and helped me hang curtains in our master bedroom. We have a lot to do to prepare for Edwin's big boy room...and I have a master plan for the basement - we've just been waiting for the new furnace...so it is all coming together.


I've also started couponing.

This week's coupon update: walgreens total bill $28.50/total cash spent $10.12, kroger total bill $169.81/total cash spent $90.69...stocked up on a lot of household items...feel good about savings and products!!!! total savings for today = $97.50!!!

So, I feel like I've been making some adult decisions...they are hard to make. I'd much rather be buying a new camera (that I've been wanting for a few years), an iPhone, a remote car starter, a porch swing...I could obviously go on...but I'll stop and continue being a responsible adult!

WEEK IN REVIEW

I am sad to say that my camera deleted every picture from this past weekend. Yes, all my photos of family and friends from Madeline's birthday party... gone. I am in the process of trying to recover them, but no success thus far. Mary Lou has taken some photos which I am thrilled to provide here.

Madeline had a fantastic Cinderella birthday party. She had a light up princess crown which made her so proud! Meredith was a bit under the weather b/c of a cold, but still had a blast with her cousins. Those kids played and played and played. How fun for them. I avoided the basement b/c I knew that I would have to stay down there and clean up as they made a mess. What is wrong with me ?!?

Aunt Mindy, Uncle Dave, and Edwin came up for the festivities. It is clear that Edwin is able to pretty much keep up with the girls now. We had some bumping of the head issues, but overall , I think he survived. We joked that he needs to wear a helmet while in the house. HAHA.

Mindy and I even had a chance to go shopping by ourselves. WOW!! I tried to spend my gift certificates at the mall. I did fairly well. Now I need to use the rest of them on a new camera that doesn't so rudely freeze up and then delete everything. >:\

On Monday , Madeline was taken to school by Grandma for Muffins with Mom. I couldn't take off work, so Grandma was the next best thing . And today, Madeline turned 5 officially. Nanny Karen came to babysit and brought her gifts for Madeline with her. More presents ! For dinner, she selected Salsita's. YUM! We came back to the house for more presents and cookies. Tomorrow , Madeline takes in cupcakes to her preschool class in honor of her birthday. So how many days can we celebrate one birthday?

QUICK BABY UPDATE

As of today, I am approx. 17 weeks pregnant. I had a dr. appointment this morning and although the dr. could hear the heartbeat, all I could hear was static from the machine...so she cheated and did a quick (2 sec) ultrasound. She confirmed a healthy baby and strong heartbeat...and also that there is just ONE baby in there!!! hahahah It was a wonderful surprise - just wish Dave could've been there to see our baby for the first time with me...but our official (longer and printed picture) ultrasound is scheduled for Feb 17th and he will be there with me as we try to dodge the important areas keeping Baby Ross a surprise until its birthday!!

Cassie, one of my best girlfriends, kept Edwin while I was at the dr. Edwin and her daughter (Amelia) LOVE each other...they played all morning and Edwin has a black eye to prove it. A game of chase followed up with a trip and a corner of a chair = one bad looking eye bruise...when I came to pick him up, he needed me to kiss it and tell me all about it...my little man is quite the wimp - but I'm okay with him needing his mama (most of the time)!

Now, Edwin is sleeping and I'm packing the car for our trip up north. We are so excited to go to Madeline's 5-year bday party. Can't believe she's turning 5 already...time is flying!

WEEK IN REVIEW

I know this is going to come as a shock, but ... I didn't take any pictures this week!!! I will instead pick some of my favorites of Madeline's own photos and three retro videos!

Matt had to suck it up and actually go to work this week. After 3 weeks off, he feels like there is a lot of catching up to do. But, he is back in the swing of things. And the girls were thrilled to have their "Nanny Karen" back on duty . HAHA. No more boring mommy or daddy to watch them. They got to show Karen all the great toys everyone gave them. I am sure it was one big game fest in the basement all day.

We have finally had a break in the snow dumpage. Thank goodness! Now it is raining , but still snow remains in the grass ?!? The poor mailbox looks pathetic with it being all cracked from a plowing incident. Any suggestions on what kind we should get to replace it? Maybe one that blinks red so no one hits it again!

Idol is back on and now the girls are watching the beginning of it. Meredith keeps turning to me, "did him do good?" or "did her do good?". Madeline is pretty intense on watching it. Finally someone in the house that will enjoy this with me! Right now , I like the cop.

Matt and I went to a MOVIE!!! at an actual theater!! We saw Avatar 3D last night while Grandma watched the energetic children. We had 2 passes to put towards the ridiculously priced show. YAY. I was very impressed with the movie and intend on owning this one. And for those of you who remember my Disney story, I did indeed wear the 3D glasses this time! **my last 3D experience I watched the whole show with my sunglasses on instead of the 3D glasses which sat on my lap; no wonder it sucked**

We can't wait to see everyone for Madeline's 5th birthday party this Saturday. She has selected Cinderella as her theme. What a shocker!

2010: Not a Good Year for Redheads in Sports (So Far)

1/4/10 - TCU quarterback Andy Dalton throws an interception (his 3rd of the game) ending his team's final drive and chances for a Fiesta Bowl win (TCU loses by 7).

1/6/10 - MLB pitcher Burt Blyeven fails to receive enough votes to qualify for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the 13th consecutive year.

1/9/10 - Bengals kicker Shayne Graham misses 2 easy (for NFL standards) field goals in his team's playoff loss to the Jets.

1/11/10 - MLB slugger Mark McGwire admits steroid use.

All of this heartache in the span of 8 days. But it could get better...

McGwire's admission came at this time due to his wanting to clear the air before undertaking his new job as St. Louis Cardinal hitting coach...maybe he can start to rebuild his tarnished rep by mentoring young players. Blyeven was only 5 votes short for the Hall, so it's likely that the 14th time will be a charm in 2011. Dalton, a junior, is as high as the 11th best college QB on some NFL draft boards, so he can either try his luck in the pros or come back to light it up for 1 more college season.

And most importantly, Shayne Graham is an unrestricted free agent this off-season. The ill will of his post-season collapse could cause the Bengals to not even attempt to re-sign him. Considering his impressively efficient kicking performance over the past few years, he should have no problem getting another job for the 2010 season. Any chance to escape the Bengals is a cause for celebration, right?

Edwin - 19 Months

Yesterday Edwin turned 19 months...can't believe how big he is getting. This is his new table and chairs from Treva and Tamara (Christmas gift) and he LOVES it! We are still working on keeping crayons at the table...but he's learning!

WEEK IN REVIEW

I was back to work this week. Nothing too exciting and nothing has changed. HA! This just so happened to be the snowiest week ever!! I had to drive in those unplowed, icy highways. WOW!! I am glad that is over. The more blizzard-like it is, the more the patients show up. Does that make sense?

The girls finally got to play in the snow, but not good packing snow. Meredith, the weenie that she is, was hesitant at first, but then loved it! Matt showed them how to do snow angels, which they enjoyed doing themselves. The girls even got to swing and slide down their playset! That thing keeps on giving :)

Matt has been having fun with the blocks the girls received for Christmas. The current game is to allow daddy to build the blocks around each girl. Madeline is more than willing to stand still until they are above her head. Meredith on the other hand is crying once they pass her belly button. Too funny!

We had went out to dinner with Grandma to Ruby Tuesday and afterwards went to her house. We found a very large icicle hanging from the front porch. Shockingly, Matt posed with it pretending to throw a javelin AND actually let me take a photo of him with his phone. I , of course, posted it immediately onto Facebook for all to see.

Last night, Meredith was a bugger crying out in the middle of the night for me. All she wants is to see if we still exist. Well, last night I walked in, I asked what was wrong, " My Toe Hurts!". I can't see a darn thing, so I am making my way to the head of the bed when I literally run into a foot near my face. It scared me, but I kept it together, asked which toe and kissed it. She went right back to sleep. I escaped her room and then laughed all the way back to my room.

Click HERE if you want to see the current installment of Madeline's photos from her camera.

The first video is Meredith doing official pushups. Her shirt makes it seem like her belly is on the floor, but it isn't! She is soooo serious when she does them. She also LOVES showing people that she can do "exercise".

Bengals vs. Jets

Edwin and I are really hoping for a WIN today!!!! LET'S GO BENGALS!!!!

Dave is sporting his orange hair in support of the Bengals today...thanks honey!!!

Learning My Shapes

Yesterday was colors - today it is shapes...tomorrow the WORLD!!!

ENJOY!!!

Learning My Colors

Today I finally got Edwin practicing his colors on tape. He is really growing up so fast...so cute! ENJOY!!!

SNOW DAY!!!

WE WON!!!!

So, I enter contests all of the time trying to win things for Edwin...and I finally WON!!!!

I entered the LearningCurve.com sweepstakes and won an amazing prize package...it arrived today...just take a look! Obviously, Edwin loves the Why Flyer Ride On - in fact, I don't know how I will get him off of it!

The other items include: Lamaze Play and Grow Jacque the Peacock (great for Baby #2), Lamaze Balancing Bug Stacker, Lamaze Infant Development System Discovery Farm (great for Baby #2), Animal Sounds Hay Ride, Lamaze Spin and Explore the Sea Gym (perfect for Baby #2), Thomas and Friends Oval Set, and a new car shade - which we will need since we'll soon have carseats on both sides of the car!!!!

I'm so excited about this...finally, the countless website entry forms paid off...and now we are having a blast playing with all of our new toys!!!!

YAHOO!!!!

WEEK IN REVIEW

Happy New Year! What a great week to have no work :) I got to sleep , sleep, and more sleep. I got to shop (and was unsuccessful in using most of my gift cards ... that is just sick!).

New Year's Eve was so exciting. A trip to Salsita's for dinner where I ordered the 32 oz beer. They set it in front of Matt who redirected it to me. The waiter put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Happy New Year to YOU!". Very funny! After dinner, we were off to the basement for some kid games with Grandma. Wild and Crazy, I know!

We celebrated the "New Year" at 8 pm with the girls. Even had some champagne and sparkling grape juice. Matt and I did manage to make it to the midnight mark watching Dick Clark screw up the countdown (kind of sad).

New Year's Day we were off to Grandma's to see some of the relatives before heading to Pittsburgh to eat with Papa and Deb. Madeline and Meredith were eating crackers, cheese, and shrimp galore at Grandma's. Hungry little wolves they were!

After our traditional, delicious pork and sauerkraut dinner at Papa and Deb's, we were out the door to drive through the Christmas light display at Hartwood Acres. The girls really enjoyed this activity!! And to top it off, we got to spend the night in Pittsburgh. They just love sleepovers.

Since then, I have been moping around b/c I have to return to work on Monday. BOO HISS!! Matt has one more week off... lucky!