Bronners

The kids loved going to Bronners and seeing Santa. Brooklyn wants a red ryder bee bee gun with a scope. Not really.

The Season!

It was very chilly for our Christmas tree selection this year. But that's how it's supposed to be, right?

Brooklyns tie

Brooklyn just came home from school with a very exciting announcement. As you can see she is successfully tying her own shoes. Hurray for Brooklyn!

Brooklyn's 6th Birthday

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago we were in the hospital having a baby! Where has the time gone? I'm very proud of the sweet little girl that Brooklyn has become. Her birthday party was Saturday and as always we all had a great time with our family. Brooklyn and Kennedy LOVE there cousins and everyone always plays together so nicely. Her theme this year was Littlest Petshop and she had a lot of fun decorating the house with all her little toys. Papa and her even made paw prints with chalk leading up to the house and after dinner we painted faces up like dogs and cats and had dance party.

Doggy School

I am proud to announce that Boscoe Thuma is now a graduate of Beginners Obedience School of Flushing Animal Hospital. He graduates with top honers in the following commands: sit, sit stay, down, down stay, heel, about turn, about turn left, stand, and come. I have allocated several awards to Boscoe and some of his classmates. Teachers Pet: Charlie. Loudest dog: Buddy. Meanest: Ginger. Scariest: Max. Most popular: Jazmin. Class Clown: Boscoe. Most likely to take a big shidooby on the floor: Susie. As Virginia Slim herself would say to Boscoe if she knew him-You've Come A Long way, baby. And he has. I'm proud of him. When I think about the fact that he was a stray dog wandering around Flint and now he has become such a nice family dog and has enriched our lives so much it makes me really proud that we rescued him and really happy that we are able to give him security and a loving home. Hats off to you-animal rescue groups. You make the world a better place indeed.

cost cutting & the end of the election

Hey fellow bloggers
I was just thinking about different ways to save money. I think this is something that most of us are having to really think about these days-not just us stay at home mommies. Some tactics I'm working on:
coupon clipping
reading the store ads and trying to find sales in stores that match coupons that I have clipped (this is actually very worth it sometimes)
cooking rather than eating out
making coffee at home vs. running through Starbucks (but I still have to occasionally because it's it's in my blood to want Starbucks constantly)
using tupperware vs. buying ziploc bags
drinking yummy Flushing city water vs. buying bottled water
hitting the library for movies vs. ordering through on demand
Having at least a couple dinners per week that contain no meat (it's healthier for us anyway)
Outlet shopping
Utilizing the outdoors for climate control (AKA opening windows)

What are your methods?

P.S. How is everyone feeling now that the elections are over? Since I have been alive I don't know of another election that people were so emotional about. People who typically don't get involved in politics were informed and passionate. I certainly feel as though I may have a few more white hairs because of it. I will never forget Tuesday. I will never forget what I did that day. I will never forget about how I felt when I was watching the election coverage. I will never forget seeing Jessee Jackson crying and hearing McCain's speech at the end. I was so impressed with his speech. I felt like he really said some great things and handled losing very eloquently.

Fall Festivities

Saturday was the fall festival at the township nature park. The girls enjoyed a hay ride, fun games, candy, and some dress up fun. It's a pretty park actually. We go out there quite a bit for walks and looking for deer or whatever animal we may spy. Last year we walked right up on a deer and she was very startled to see us. Saturday was pretty chilly so the girls had to cover up there costumes with jackets. But-that's fall in Michigan. And my house was a pleasant place to be in the evening after State beat Michigan. Go State!!

Kennedy's pumpkin

Kennedy had a blast painting her pumpkin in preschool today. She's very proud of her work-can you tell?

Kennedy's Field Trip at Almar

Kennedy had a field trip with her 3 year old preschool class. It was at Almar Orchards. The kids got to go on a hayride, pick an apple, feed farm animals, eat donuts and drink cider. A great time was had by all. Her favorite part was feeding popcorn to the baby turkey.

Boscoe

I love my pets. My dog is such a cool animal. But God help me-I am so mad at him right now. I just caught him eating my glasses. So far today he has eaten food belonging to Brooklyn, Kennedy, and myself. Twice he actually got up on the table and the third was me just losing my mind for a moment and leaving my english muffin within reach in the living room. I know that a dog may mess up but like 5 seconds later they forgot what they did. But I truly believe that he knows he's been bad today. Right now as I'm typing this he is lying at my feet looking at me with these sad eyes. He's in his 4th week at obedience school. I can't say it's going great-but it's not going terribly. Boscoe is not the worst, nor is he the best dog there(as far as obedience goes). Brooklyn and him have a special bond. It's very obvious that he really likes her. When she gets home from school he is so excited to see her. I just love that. And she's actually really good with him. He actually listens to my 5 year old! Kennedy is another story.

sickies

I am sad to say that me and my family are experiencing our first colds of the season. Yuck! I can't believe this is happening already!! Brooklyn had a runny nose on Thursday. On Friday Kennedy was a little snotty and I was a full fledged snot factory. Jeff doesn't have it yet-but usually when one of us gets something like this we all do. SO today after Brooklyn's soccer game I made a huge pot of chicken soup and then some fruit smoothies for us to up our vitamin C consumption. I actually have been making smoothies a lot the last week or two and the girls have been loving them. Which is great news because I struggle with their nutrition quite a bit. I picked up a big bag of frozen fruit from Sam's and throw a bowl or two in the blender with a ripe banana cut up and a splash or two of almond milk and it's super duper delicious or bee yish ous and Kennedy would say. Because the fruit is frozen or partially frozen it's like ice cream to them. And I don't blend it a ton so it's still really thick. I've been trying to get them to eat smoothies forever but have been unsuccessful I think because of their texture issues. So frozen is where it's at man. Now I just need to find some yummy veggie juice recipes so I can start using my juicer. I have a sneaking suspicion that Kennedy may balk at that a bit. We'll see...in the meantime I would like to advise all my friends to carry around antibacterial lotion for your hands and clean your shopping cart handles and all that fun stuff that goes along with cold and flu season because it's here baby.

School Days

So far the girls are loving school. Brooklyn really likes her teacher and her class. And-she loves to ride the bus. A little boy on her bus really likes her and she's actually been calling him her boyfriend. But Jeff and I talked to her and made it clear that boy friend at this age just means that he's a boy and he is also her friend. When I was her age I thought boys had cooties!
And Kennedy is really enjoying three year old preschool. She's going two days a week now without me!!! We had our field trip last week. We all walked to the playscape down town. I loved watching her interact with her little friends.

Borders

Yesterday morning just might have been the best morning ever. Kennedy is with Nana and Papa up north for the traditional up north adventure that all the grandkids go on the fall that they are three. (Isn't that the coolest?) And Brooklyn of course had school in the morning. So where did that leave me? Alone!! Holy cow that never ever happens. First of all, after I get Brooklyn loaded onto the school bus I took a bath. I seriously was the only person in the bathroom. Crazy, I know. And then I went to Borders and sat and read books and drank coffee for like 2 hours!! I felt so relaxed and just GREAT. I love my children, my husband, and my animals with all of my heart and enjoy them a great deal. But-WOW there is a lot to be said for just being alone for a couple hours in a quiet place. Today I still am feeling very tranquil. Hats off to you Borders.

Boskoe's Story

I would like to announce that we have an addition to our family. As of last Wednesday we are proud owners of a very large puppy!! Sunday Brooklyn and I went to Petsmart to purchase a puppy gift for Greg and Tracy's new puppy. And we met just the sweetest dog ever. His name is Boskoe and he was there with Forever Friends Rescue Group. They were there with lots of kitties and a couple people were walking Boskoe around the store. His story was pretty sad actually. He was found on August 8th laying in the middle of Clio road. He had been hit by a car, was malnourished (very underweight), and extremely dehydrated. Thankfully, a vet technician stopped and picked him up and took him to her office where he was all fixed up. He stayed there for a few days and then went to live with a foster family. His injuries weren't severe-he bounced back just fine. And once he was given food and water regularly he put on weight. He is 12 months old and he is a German Shepherd mix. We don't know what he is mixed with-perhaps Akita or Siberian Husky. The rescue group put out fliers and no one ever claimed Boskoe. So who knows what the story is-if he was a stray or mistreated or what. I was just drawn to him partly because of his story-and just knowing that he really needed a family-and partly because he is just so friendly. When Brooklyn first saw him she was just in awe of how pretty he was. And when she approached him he immediately laid down on the floor on his back so that she could pet his tummy. It was just so sweet. I was shocked that Jeffrey was so open to the whole thing. Because most of you know-doggies aren't really on his list of faves. But so far so good. Since we've had him we've gone on lots of walks and jogging sessions. I just enrolled him in Doggie training school at Petco. Which-oh my goodness-when I told Brooklyn that mommy was going to be taking Boskoe to Doggie training school she asked if a dog teaches the class. And I said "No, Brooklyn. It's a person that teaches the class." She looked confused and then asked "Does the person know how to speak Dog?" How cute is that. I absolutely love it!!

Tea Party

So what is better than a bunch of little girls (and one boy) wearing dresses, crowns and fancy plastic heels? I don't know of anything. So Brooklyn, Kennedy, and I hosted a tea party with all our favorite neighborhood friends!! We started with some play time. That was followed by enjoying some fabulous tea. (lemonade in plastic princess tea cups for the children, peach oolong tea or black tea for the moms). Our first course was your standard finger sandwiches-cucumber and butter, tomato and cheddar, and of course who could forget PB and J (certainly not my Kennedy!) Our second course consisted of crumpets with butter and jam. Our third course was sugar cookies and tarts. Brooklyn, Grace, Gabrielle, and Gracie Lou all tried peach oolong tea. One serving was enough and it was back to the lemonade! Perhaps tea is an acquired taste. I would have to say that the last course was everyones favorite. It was a great chance for everyone to get all dressed up and get together. Us moms had a great time also discussing various topics including laying insulation with a bare bottom. (P.S.-it should be avoided). I deem this as being the first of many tea parties for us and our fun neighborhood friends.

cyclops and elephant ear

We had a very lovely stay at Wilderness State Park. Along with my sister and her family, we stayed for 10 days. Shocked that I camped for 10 days with a 3 year old and a 5 year old? Me too!!! Our spots were right next to the beach and some swings facing the water so it was actually very tranquil. The first morning there, however, proved to be less than tranquil. My 3 year old woke up unable to open her eye. It was completely swelled shut!! We didn't know if it was an eye infection or bug bite so we put benadryl cream on it and hoped for the best. We all went to the beach and she passed out on the beach with like a marathon of a nap. (I now realize that the benadryl cream soaked into her skin and caused a sleepy reaction like I gave her several tablets-oops!) And when she woke up it looked as if someone had inserted one of her prized bouncy balls from Old Navy behind her eye lid. Yikes!! So of course I began to freak out a bit. My sister and I ran up to the DNR office and began my mirage of phone calls to her pediatrian, etc. for direction for my poor sweet cyclops child. As we are quickly changing out of bathing suits and brushing the sand from our skin to make the trip across the Mackinaw Bridge to the Urgent Care office, who should come bounding from the beach calling-"Wait, Wait"! but my brother in law, Bill carrying my 5 year old. My stomach dropped. Brooklyn's left ear was swollen 3 times larger than her right ear. SO needless to say, we loaded her into the truck as well and proceeded to St. Ignace. Crossing the Mackinaw Bridge is always such a big deal to me. It's silly actually because I'm sure that I've probably passed through 20 times in my life. However, I'm always thinking about the history of the bridge, and all the people who died building it, and of course what would happen to us if our truck were to blow off or if the bridge were to cave in. Needless to say, we didn't blow off. We did have a nice drive through St. Ignace, however. We drove through the entire town and they just happened to be having a car show. Brooklyn (with her gigantic ear in the back seat) spied the elephant ear kiosk and of course started asking us to stop and get her one. So of course prompted us to reply-You already have an elephant ear. We are just missing the sugar and grease. Very ridiculous, I know. We did eventually find the Urgent Care. And by the way, should any of you ever have an emergency situation in the UP or Mackinaw City, I would highly recommend it. The staff was very professional, nice, and we were in and out quickly. Turns out, both of my daughters were having severe reactions to.......I know, the anticipation is killing you.....drum roll please....mosquito bites. I will say this-the mosquito situation up there is insane. That is the only negative to our family vacation. The area is beautiful. We were able to collect caterpillars, see deer, bats, frogs, snakes, a beautiful sky full of stars, and best of all happy playing children. Bill (my brother-in-law) as always, outdid himself being the grill master. Lori, as always, outdid herself as being just a great sister to me and aunt to my kids. And we all outdid ourselves in being a constant source of goofiness, and dumb humor. We all just have so much fun laughing at ourselves and each other. I think that's what family is all about.