Santa Overload

Three Santas in three days! On Sunday my mom and I took the kids down to Wal-mart. I really needed laundry detergent and a bunch of other things. While shopping around we heard that Santa was in the garden department! We rushed over and got in line. Henry was so excited he kept trying to get into other people's pictures. For our turn neither child smiled though. Wal-mart takes the picture and an hour later you get a FREE very nice photo with a border around it. No Polaroid. We got pictures with the Easter bunny there too so I was pleased to have Santa pictures too. The only downside of the night was when Henry found the live lobsters in the grocery section. He wanted one sooooo badly! Try explaining to a three year old why we couldn't take care of one ;-)

Tuesday Santa was going to be at storytime at the public library. We went and listened to stories and sang songs. Got another picture with Santa and got a book and coloring/activity book. We also made cute tree ornaments and had cookies and juice. Once again the kids are not really smiling in the photos.

Roo and her cookie

Silly face Henry!

For dinner Grandma took us to Pizza Hut for pizza buffet with Santa! Robin and her daughter Ali joined us and we did have a nice dinner. Her daughter is so quiet and well behaved. My kids were their usual selves. When Santa and Mrs. Claus came they went around to all the tables. Irene gave Santa a death glare. Guess she didn't want to have her dinner interrupted. By the time we went for pictures Henry was mad about something (don't know what) and so he would not smile at all. Roo refused to even look at Santa. She just ignored him. Oh well! Dinner was fun and I got the picture :-)

The pictures are not that great. Sorry!

Yesterday was Roo's 18 month check up at the doctor. My mom was kind enough to go with us and I enjoyed having the grown-up company. Considering all the snow we have gotten the ride was really easy until we got to Interlochen. From there to the doctor's office the roads were not good. Both kids go to the Grand Traverse Children's Clinic. The doctors there are great and so good with the kids. Anyway Roo got a Hep A shot and a flu shot. When we were finished grandma treated us to lunch at the yummy Omelette Shoppe. The kids didn't eat that well but we had a great lunch. When we left Henry wanted to go into the Wild Birds Unlimited store. They had soooo many great things in there. I could have gladly gotten a lot of stuff for me as well as Christmas gifts. Check it out!
Before we left for home we stopped at Borders. I love me some Borders! Everyone went potty there and Henry scored some truck books. There were some books I wanted but a little elf told me that someone might be getting me them as an x-mas gift :-) While waiting in line to pay we got a free sample of gingerbread latte complete with a little gingerbread man cookie.
We got home to discover that the city had FINALLY plowed our road but they had covered up the walkway to the house. The snow was waist deep. I had to crawl through it just to get to the house then spent twenty minutes shoveling back to the car to get the kids. I was so mad! Lots of neighbors but no one willing to help the lady with two toddlers. Enjoy the show, jerks?


When I went up to bed I found Roo sleeping in this pose. What a darling! I took the pictures in the dark so they are kinda fuzzy but I just had to share. She is sleeping on Henry's "Cars" pillow with her mound of babies and with the blanket my mom knitted for her and a blanket my grandma Bernie made for me almost 32 years ago :-)

My Daughter's Darn Good Guardian Angel

My stinker of a daughter has a DARN Good guardian angel. The kids were watching cartoons so I went down to put laundry in. No problem...right? When I came back up I noticed I missed a call on my phone. It was the doctor's office wanting me to call back and confirm Irene's appointment for tomorrow. I called and was immediately on hold. While waiting Roo started crying. When I looked for her I couldn't find her. I finally realized the crying was coming from the second floor! She had climbed up the stairs!!! While trying to come down her pants got caught on the metal floor thingy at the top thus keeping her there until I could rescue her. I had she not gotten stuck she would have certainly fell down the stairs. She cannot get down them by herself. It took a minute for it to sink in for me and then I was thanking the lord! My stinker Irene eating a cookie at Grandma's.

Can You Hear Me Now?!

What a mixed day this has been. During nap time I chatted online with a Sprint customer service person. This is the first time I have ever gotten someone knowledgeable, helpful, and polite. The woman walked me through the steps to get my phone working again. I am once again a happy Blackberry owner. It works! I also made a new friend on Facebook (Hi Beth!). Always makes me feel so happy to make friends. So the day was picking up from the morning. However when we left the house to grocery shop I discovered that my neighbor had snowblowed the sidewalk from his house to mine. He stopped right at the side of my house but sent all the snow onto my shoveled out walkway. So I am out there with two young children up to our knees trying to wade out. And just to top that off he had also sent a dead bird with all that snow. Geez thanks.

The store was busy with people stocking up for the freezing rain and snow we are suppose to be getting. Surprisingly I did not see Stacy's mom Annette there (she totally follows me there ;-). Anyway at the deli the young lady working gave Henry and Roo a dish full of 3 colors of jello. That was so sweet and gave them something to snack on while I shopped. Roo loved it up. Of course when I got home I had to deal with that darn snow so I was out shovelling...again. I hate snow. Totally moving to Virginia.

There was a new Top Gear on tonight so I let Henry stay up longer than I should have but he loves that show. Tonight he decided he wanted a BMW M3. I informed Mr. BMW himself, Uncle Pete, that he could get Henry that for Christmas.

Wedding Pictures from 2002

Wedding pictures from our wedding in 2002. All pictures by Beth Weston.
These next pictures are photoshopped by my brother Matt. Great sense of humor...brat.

Notice he managed to put himself into this picture.

Pictures found in my email folder

Hey! I was going through my email folder and came across some pictures. Lots of baby pictures. Enjoy!

Irene in the hospital
Picture by Kaye Wisniewski

Roo at home Henry with Uncle Pete Henry's first Halloween. Yes he is a Lobster Henry Teaching Uncle Pete to read.
Photos by Stacy Eddy

Blah Blah Blah

Having a seriously blah day today. Henry woke me up at 8. Shockingly Irene was still sleeping! H and I went downstairs where I managed to get both dogs out, coffee made, juice poured, and talk to my mom about the freezing rain coming before Roo woke up. Yippee! That was a good start to the day but it snowed again last night and I think it affects the way I feel. I am so tired and in such a blah mood. Yesterday was a nonstop, get everything done kind of day. But it still looks like I've done nothing in here! That is discouraging.
My hubby is having one of those days too. After spending nine hours at a warehouse in North Carolina they finally told him that his truckload wasn't meant for them. Supposedly it was going to their other company miles away. When he finally got there they kept sending him to different buildings and then had to have a meeting about what they ordered. He still has two other stops to make today and they are holding him up. My poor guy.
We are suppose to get freezing rain tonight and a lot more snow tomorrow. Yuck. I am so sick of snow. As soon as the kids get up from naps we have to grocery shop so we won't need to leave the house for a few days. On Saturday we had so much snow I spent 40 minutes shoveling out my poor car. And then just for the fun of it LuLu took off. Dumb dog was out in the cold for an hour. I don't understand her need to run off in the middle of winter. We found her in January of 2007 in Lowell. Someone had abandoned her. In winter. A**holes. So you'd think she would want to stay inside. Dogs...sheesh.
Time to find some energy and motivation. Here's hoping the day perks up!

It wasn't funny then....

Last night....Arggg...last night was not a good night although looking back now it was kinda funny. Shannon came over just before lunch and with her was a brand new coffee maker! Yippee! She kindly amused my kids and chatted with me. Very nice time. Then I went to get a hair cut with by a new hair stylist. I can't find her card at this moment but I will add the info later. Anyway I love my new cut! Love it! So far so good, right? Shannon, my mom, and me and the kiddies were all going to meet up for dinner. The plan was pizza at the casino. Super yummy pizza. But Shannon was not feeling well :-( So mom, me and kiddos went to Pizza Hut. Thankfully we got there when it was not too busy. The kids were a bit noisy. Pizza Hut had some oldie music playing and Irene was dancing to it. Really funny. We ordered taco pizza which everyone chowed down. So dinner=good. It was after dinner that things went to heck...
The van had a tire that was low on air...okay go put air in it. So I drove to the K-mart gas station and tried to put air in. All I DID do was let more air out. I talked to the car expert from BMW, or as we call him, my brother Pete. He walked me through the steps but still nothing happened. Seeing as he was in Virginia he could not pop over to help but he tried calling a friend in town...and of course he was not available. Meanwhile I am on the phone to the hubby trying to get his opinion. He said to try Wesco. Went there...no air hose. Gone...the sign was there but no hose. By this time it was dark, very cold, and late. Tried Shannon. Still sick and her hubby was out. She did offer to come out and help but she sounded like hell so I said no way. By this time I had reached my breaking point. I was tired, stressed,and cold. I was going home. But hubby said it would damage the tire to leave it like that all night. Ahhhhh! Ended up driving to the BP station only to discover I needed to pay 75 cents to use the air hose! AND in typical Williams Family style I had no cash on me. (Should change the name of this blog to Williams Family Style) Yup. That's my life. Thankfully my mom had some change. Put it in, started the machine, hooked it up, AND...nothing! Still wasn't working! Couldn't get air into that tire! I got in the car just about in tears. I was so mad with this damn tire!
But mom saved the day :-) She grabbed some strange man that came to the gas station just for some antifreeze. She kindly asked him to help (and maybe offered a "favor"?). It took a bit with him kneeling in the snowy cold but he finally got air in the tire. What did he do that I didn't? Who knows...I think it's a guy thing or at least a Nicole can't do this but some guy should thing. Anyway my warm thanks to you, kind tire filler, may you be blessed this holiday!
And of course later in true poopy kid fashion Pete and I poked fun at my mom for turning into a pushy lady just like Grandma. Of course without her help I would still be sitting there :-)

Oh and a p.s. to Shannon...You are a cranky stinky butt...and Pregnant pregnant pregnant!!!!!

Busy Busy

Started off the day with a yummy cup of coffee made right here with my new coffee maker. How lovely! The coffee maker is a gift from my wonderful friend Shannon. Thank you! After my coffee my mom came over and we got the kids dressed and took off for a busy morning. We are suppose to be getting "lake effect" snow today so I wanted to get everything done this morning.
Went to the bank (money money) and to the post office (bye bye money money). Drove to a vet in town to get flea treatment for the dogs and then paid the car insurance. Then I took my good little boy for a hair cut. That was by far the best part since the gentleman cutting his hair kept telling me how well behaved my son is. Other people commented on him too. It's so nice to have him remembered for GOOD behavior. Of course in this case it's all about the sucker he gets at the end. He'd get his hair cut everyday for that sucker ;-)
After the hair cut it was grocery time. Ran into Stacy's mom again...I swear she follows me to the store since I see her there EVERY TIME! It was really busy there today. Payday? Or the snow that we are suppose to get? Finally got out of there and went to gas up the van. Over all not very exciting but anyone with two small children can tell you that it was not easy to do. I feel so proud ;-)

Feeling Sad :-(

Okay...I know this makes no sense and I know that in a few weeks I will be back on a schedule and feeling like a baby for writing this BUT...I really miss my mom. I miss my husband too and my brother but it is just not the same. The kids and I stayed with my mom two months. That's it...not two years...two months and yet her company has kept me going. It was nice to know that someone was going to be home for the dinner I cooked. It was nice to know I could go grocery shopping with someone. Company for watching tv, help with the kids, general companionship. We are in the same town...she was over this morning and yet I feel like an important part of me has been cut off. Crazy? I know. The best part is that woman can drive me sooooo crazy! But still it was so wonderful to have my mommy there. Now I have to once again be the grown up. I am just lonely.
My wonderful brother Pete, living in Charlottesville Virginia, called me as soon as he got out of work tonight. We had a chat while he drove to the gym. I felt so much better after talking to him. We are very close and it was nice to hear about the things going on in his life right now. I would call my hubby who is my rock but if I am stressed and sad when he is on the road it stresses him out. And he already is stressed from not being here...so I hate to add to it.
So that leaves blogging and facebooking. Lucky people! ;-)

Is it time for my nap yet?

Holy cow and all that! Life has been rather hectic this past week. After being on the road for 3 1/2 weeks Mark finally made it back home. Even though we planned on his being out for so long it was hard to be away from him so long. The kids missed him terribly. Henry has referred to him as "my daddy" every time he mentioned him. I drove to Grand Rapids to pick him up on Wednesday. My mom stayed home with the kids. It was weird driving back without the children. It was like being newly married with no concerns. Anyway...we had a gigantic amount of stuff to be done this holiday weekend. And in typically Williams Family style nothing went as planned. Starting with the moving truck rented over the phone through Penske. We have never had good dealings with Penske and yet we keep doing business with them. Why? Cause my opinion is sometimes not listened to. So the truck we wanted was not available and we ended up in Wellston renting a smaller truck from Budget. No big deal but it blew the plan for Wednesday out of the water. Thursday (Thanksgiving) Mark and I worked our butts off moving. Yes...I helped move the large, heavy furniture. Never again. Nope. Not gonna happen. Old homes with narrow staircases and bedroom furniture just don't mix. If I move again I will hire people to come and pack it up for me.
After moving all day my mom, children, husband, and I went to the Brookside Inn for Thanksgiving dinner. The Brookside Inn is a favorite of mine and we went there last year for Thanksgiving. Of course last year my brother Pete was with us and this year he was in Virginia. So sad without him. And the dinner was better last year too. This year it felt rushed like they just wanted to clean up and go home. Disappointing.
Friday was another day moving and getting injured. I have a huge purple bruise on my knee from being attacked by the bed. Mark wonked his shin on the trailer hitch. Saturday was more of the same except my mom was getting moody. She was not happy that we were leaving her place. After two months we have gotten used to each other for company. We ended up having a small fight but she told me to go f*#k myself. Not the nicest thing to hear from your mother especially over a very trivial matter. So I grabbed the kids and took off to find Mark. We had to feed the kids and take the truck back to Wellston so the kids never got a nap.
So it was hard work and very stressful and not really the way we wanted Mark's time off to go. The kids are very excited to have the space to run around and to have all their toys back. That makes me happy but I am having the usual hard time adjusting to a big change and having to do so without my hubby here. The kids and I took him back to Grand Rapids yesterday morning. So I am on my own for finding all the missing items and trying to put things to right. Not easy. But it has to be done by Christmas since we will have company!

Thunder From Down Under

Wow! What an exciting Saturday night. My darling friend Shannon took me to the show Thunder From Down Under. Her husband got the tickets for us. I have not been out for a "girls" night in a very long time. Warren, her husband, was our designated driver for the night so we could have a drink or two if we wished. Nice guy! Anyway for those of you that don't know Thunder From Down Under is a male stripper/dance group from Australia. Very lean, sculpted men dancing around and taking their clothes off. Very nice...but no picture taking allowed :-(
We both had a couple of drinks at the show and after Shannon ordered a pizza from the casino deli. After telling me that it was truly the best pizza in town I decided to take home two slices, one for me and one for my mom who was kindly watching the kids. And it was the best pizza I have had in a long time! Of course my mom wanted to know why we didn't bring home a sexy Australian.
It was a fantastic night and I loved it. The show was fun and the company great! Thank you Shannon! And Warren!

Halloween and other stories.

What a busy time it's been. Mark made it home for Halloween! We drove to Grand Rapids Friday (the 31st) in the morning to pick him up then hurried back home. Henry's costume this year was Tigger. He was soooo cute! Irene went a a ladybug bug. Again way cute! We walked around to houses and Henry knocked on the doors. Poor guy was so hoarse from the cold we all had but he would knock and say "notch notch". He always said thank you although it comes out as "Tyou". They got a lot of candy even though we really didn't go to that many houses. We ended at Shannon's house where mommy and daddy got an adult beverage. Great way to warm up ;-)
In the morning we went to Traverse City. I got a new phone! Sprint was having a sale and I got a new phone that I needed badly. I got a red Blackberry Curve. Loved it and the woman that helped me was great and changed my plan so I actually get more minutes for less money. I love the calender option on this phone. I can put in everyone's appointments and manage them so much better than I could with my other phone. Of course I had some buyers remorse a couple of days later. Not sure if it's Sprint or the phone but there are some things that are not working correctly. Grrr.
Anyway...Mark and I ended up having a big fight at Borders. I think lack of sleep played a big part. The fight curbed our day and we ended up leaving without going to three of the stores we needed to go to. That night we stayed at Days Inn. Swimming swimming all night long. My kids are fish. Thankfully the kiddies went to bed early and I got a lovely shoulder/back rub ;-)
Sunday morning we decided to head to Grand Rapids so Mark could get back on the road. My mom was going to go with us but she was sick with the cold we've been spreading around. We got to G.R. around 1pm and Mark logged into the truck computer to let them know he was ready to go. Then we headed to Brann's for lunch. Nice lunch but the kids were BRATS! Of course in typical Williams Family style when we got to the restaurant we discovered that Henry had wet his pants. He was drenched. Thankfully Brann's is across the street from the huge Meijer store. I ran in and got Hen sweatpants, sweatshirt and towel to sit on. Fun!
After all that excitement we headed back to the truck. Once there we discovered that there was no load for Mark until Monday. I didn't want to leave him there while we headed home. He would have to sleep in his truck and actually drive to a gas station just to potty. We decided to stay the night in Grand Rapids. Of course our suitcase with all the diapers and clothes I had Mark take into the house before we left town so we did not have any clothes. So off to Wal-Mart. We got the kids inexpensive jammies and diapers for Roo. Then we checked into the Quality Inn Terrace Club where we stayed the last time we were in Grand Rapids. This time we got to see their birds. Last time we were there they darn things were sleeping. Sammy and Mulan were beautiful but they didn't like Roo. That might have had something to do with her squawking as loud as possible at them. Turns out Mark has some strange affinity with birds. He talked "bird talk" with them and nodded his head up and down. What a sight! And I still tease him about it :-)
We went swimming as soon as we check in. Thankfully Mark had left the bag with all our swimsuits in the car so we were able to enjoy the pool. Plus it was Sunday so there was no one else at the pool! After swimming we had dinner then it was back into the pool. Really super fun evening. The kids went to sleep early again and Mark and I just enjoyed some time to ourselves. I was really glad we had that extra night with Mark and we parted happy with each other. And then with the usual Williams Family style it turned out they still did not have a run and he ended up spending Monday night in his truck. AND...Tuesday he got a really s*#ty run making it an overall crappy week for miles...making it a poopy pay week too :-(

Happy Anniversary?

What crazy lives we lead? Is it safe to use that excuse for why we both forgot our wedding anniversary? I just realized today that our wedding anniversary was TWO DAYS ago! How could I forget? Of course Mark didn't remember until I told him so I think I should get extra points for actually remembering ;-) I immediately sent my hubby a text message wishing him a late happy anniversary. He is still on the road until tomorrow so even if either of us had remembered we would not have celebrated together. I guess we'll have to have grandma watch the kiddies so we can have a quiet time out together. I am excited that he'll be home tomorrow in time to go out trick-or-treating with the kids. He hasn't been out with us since Henry's first Halloween back in 2005 when Henry was only a month old. He was dressed as a lobster by the way and we only went to a few neighbors.

Happy (late) Sixth Anniversary Marky! I love you lots and you are still my rock.

Blue Toe Nails...

We finally made it to Kindermusik Family Time. We only missed three(!) classes. I've never had a month conspire against me like this month has. Last week was the first week we actually got there. The kids had a great time and it is always nice to see the kids and moms (and dad) that we've been going to class with since early 2006. Last night was our second night making it to class. I was not going to go at first since I have a cold but Ms. Melinda (our teacher extraordinaire) said if I was feeling up to it that we should come. She'd just bring hand sanitizer for me. I managed to drag myself out of the house, clean but not altogether with it. When we got there I was surprised to see my friend Jennifer there. She was kind enough to bring the children of a mom that couldn't make it. Jennifer was VERY brave! She had five, yes FIVE kids with her!!!! I can hardly handle my two! My hat is off to you Jen! Kindermusik was a lot of fun even with my stuffed up head.

Today I am anxiously awaiting my new winter jacket. My old one has fallen apart and so I ordered a new one. Yippee! However I did not order it soon enough and I have been running around with no jacket in this cold weather. I suspect that when it arrives the weather will suddenly turn sunny and warm ;-) I also splurged on a beautiful mohair scarf but I have had an annoying time with the company I ordered it from. They called saying the billing address didn't match the one on my card and they couldn't approve it blah blah. However I called the card and the charge had already gone through before they called about it! I was NOT happy. The scarf was shipped today though. I wish that this had gone smoothly since there are a few more items I would like to buy as Christmas gifts from there. I just don't want the hassle again.

So the title of this post is blue toe nails...I picked out a crazy blue color of nail polish for my toes. When I painted them Henry was right there wanting to help me. He decided he really wanted his toe nails painted too. I was going to only do one toe on each foot but he wanted them all done. It turned out totally cute.

And in Roo news...On Monday Roo wandered off while I was on the computer. At first I didn't think much of it until I heard the toilet flush. Roo had taken quite a few of my mother's decorative soaps and flushed them. Ahhh! What a stinker! Thankfully they did not plug the toilet.

Our Grand Rapids Weekend. Part Two.

Continuing on the we really should have gone home theme...Mark woke me at 6am. He was in pain and thought he had a kidney stone. While I felt bad for him there is nothing I could do and I was a bit cranky at being woken up an hour before the kids would be up. He went down to the pool to sit in the hot tub. Lovely. I could not fall back asleep. Hmmm. He came up an hour later claiming to feel a bit better. So we trotted down to the lobby for breakfast. I love listening to other people while in a restaurant-like setting. There are always self important people spouting off about their self important whatevers. We had a woman like that sitting near us. SO I got my laugh for the day :-)

After breakfast we went to the John Ball Zoo. I was amazed at the price. Only ten dollars for the four of us! The zoo was just the right size for someone Henry's age to walk through without getting tired. We saw Penguins, tiger, lions, bears, wort hogs, monkeys, lizards. The weather was chilly but sunny so walking wasn't bad. I highly recommend it! The kids loved it. After the zoo we ate at a new little restaurant called Johnny's Lunch. It was a pretend old time diner. Cute. We all had a hot dog and fries.

After lunch we went back to the room for naps. Henry went to sleep after a lot of horsing around. Irene never did sleep. Although I blame that on Mark. She needs quiet and he opened up a package then shaved with electric razor. He made a lot of noise. Then he decided to go back to the hot tub cause his back hurt again. Now normally I would have tried to be understanding about this but never once was it okay for just me to go to the hot tub. I would have loved to sit in it and relax. My neck has a permanent injury and the hot tub would have been great...ANYWAY...when he came back to the room I decided to dose off for a bit since I was tired from getting up early. Needless to say Mark and I were not on great terms...

For dinner we went to Chuck-E-Cheese. Henry loves the commercials. We ordered the pizza and 100 tokens. The pizza was...blah but then I don't think you go there for the food. Of course Mark was still in pain and rather cranky. Henry was wanting to do everything and Roo wanted to tag along. We did end up having a good time. We left about two hours later with three fake sharks and some suckers. Surprisingly there were a lot of things both kids could do. Rides just for little ones and games. I'm just glad there isn't on in town. I would hate to drive by it on a regular basis and listen to the kids shouting to go there :-) Oh and Mark passed his kidney stone there too.

After dinner it was back to the room and down to the pool. Since it was Sunday night there was only one small girl and her mother at the pool. Yippee! Had a lovely, relaxing time. The next morning it was breakfast again then we threw some laundry into the guest washer/dryer. After that we checked out and went to the Rivertown Crossing Mall in Grandville. We were going to ride on the carousal but it was closed. Went to Barnes and Noble and got Mark was books to take on the road with him. We decided to have lunch at Red Robin since it was across the street from the mall. Fun place but we had a terrible time. Henry had a major break down. I had to go to the car with him in the pouring rain so neither of us finished lunch.

When we left there we went back to Mark's truck. Of course it was still pouring rain and I had to run across the parking lot to use the bathroom. And Henry fell asleep just before we got there and we had to wake him. Grrrr...don't wake a sleeping child. Then it was off for home. I was exhausted and when we got back to town we stopped at the store to pick up food. It was an early bedtime that night!

Thankfully this weekend we are not staying in Grand Rapids. In fact it has taken all week just to get this kids settled back in the routine. Oh no. No over nights out of town for a bit. But it will be Halloween and Daddy should be home to go out with us! Yippee!

Our Grand Rapids Weekend. Part One.

Last Saturday, after three weeks, my husband was FINALLY back in Michigan. Although we had planned for him to be out those three weeks it was still a LONG time. We decided to stay two nights in Grand Rapids so he could leave early on Monday. I drove down Saturday morning with the kids. I forgot a lot of the things I needed...I hate having to pack for three people and make sure it all gets to the car. I like the help but of course Mark was in Grand Rapids. Anyway I was making decent time on the road until I got just outside Muskegon. There was a huge traffic jam. Someone had driven off the hill and three lanes of traffic was at a standstill. Henry loved seeing all the state police cars, fire trucks, tow trucks, etc. After making it to Grand Rapids and picking up Mark we lunched at Chili's. It was...not that great. I just felt that we should have gone home instead of staying the weekend there. Little did I know...
We stayed at the Quality Inn Terrace Club on 28th street. It was actually very nice. Off the lobby they had a study, sitting room, and garden room (complete with birds). Also a breakfast room where they served pizza in the late afternoon and a free buffet breakfast in the mornings. The breakfast was actually really good. Way better than continental breakfasts. It had hot foods as well as breads and cereal. And it was free! Our room was large and very nice. The only problem was the crib....or lack of one. We were going to put the kids down for a nap and the front desk staff said a crib would be up shortly. An hour later still no crib. Called front desk...one is coming....still no crib. Mark went down to talk to someone and suddenly no one knew if they had one...BUT...no one would go look!!!! We went to the Goodwill to see if they might have one for sale cheap. The place was packed! Seriously fighting for parking spots. And the place was full of BMWs, Lexus, Escalades. No crib (pack-n-play) there. When we came out someone had hit our car!!!!! I was so MAD! I still get angry every time I think of it. Grrr.
So...we went back to the hotel. The kids and I stayed in the car while Mark went in to talk to someone again about the crib. I really did not want to spend a minimum of fifty bucks on purchasing one. While waiting for Mark, Henry started crying. I was soooo not in the mood for it. He kept getting louder. When I asked him what was wrong he managed to say his head hurt. I got out of the car and was holding him when Mark came out. Henry was hysterical. He kept saying his head hurt and no matter what we did he cried. We hopped into the car and were on the way to Meijer for some medicine. While stopped at a light Henry started throwing up. I was about to get out of the car to help him...forgot we were in traffic on 28th street! So now we had a crying, puking, head hurting little boy. Mark and I were....not freaked but worried...a lot. Instead of Meijer we started heading to an urgent care. Mark is from the Grand Rapids area but he was asking me where an urgent care was. Like I would know. He was flying down the road when Henry quieted down. I asked if his head still hurt. Nope. He was fine. Here we were panicked about our child and now he was fine. Thank you God! So our urgent care visit turned into a meijer visit. Our poor kid was covered in puke and did not smell good but he felt fine!
We had an uneventful dinner and went swimming. The kids love to swim! It was very busy at the pool though. A big group of adults drinking and not watching their kids. We stayed as far away as possible. Then it was off to bed...with a crib. Mark had been successful. Someone finally got off their butt to look for one. And that is my only complaint about the place.
More to come of our weekend but for now I have to make some kiddies some lunch.

My Brother...the Elbow

My big brother Matt finally got the results back from his MRI. If you may recall Matt was in the hospital last month with severe pain in his arm. Everyone was really worried but no one could give a answer to what was wrong. It turns out that back in the summer when he originally injured his elbow while wave boarding what happened was a piece of the elbow lining broke away. This piece then ended up in the joint causing it to swell, hurt, and lock up. Apparently this piece of lining can jam the joint up again if it doesn't heal properly. Right now it is wait and see if it will fuse to the bone. They are giving it six weeks and if everything is healing fine then there will be no need for surgery. Matt says he was about 90% of the movement back in his arm so everyone thinks it is on the road to recovery. Yippee!!

Oh Boy! Big Boy!

Yesterday was not a good day. I was so stressed out. And Irene has really bad diarrhea. Yuck...yes. She has had it for a week now and it is not going away. Her butt looked, and still looks, like it has been sunburned. And she was in a FOUL mood. So add that to the mix and that the dogs woke the kids up after only a half an hour nap...well the day was shot to hell.

I was suppose to go to Ludington to look at a place. I almost didn't go. But my mom and I packed the kids into the car at 5:30 and went down. It turned out to be a really good night. We stopped for dinner at Big Boy. I had a yummy chocolate shake of which Henry drank a large portion. Irene ate like a trooper! I was so surprised considering her ouchy butt. I was disappointed that the Starbucks in Ludington closed down. I really wanted some coffee but the shake made up for it. Irene fell asleep in the car on the way back home. Thankfully she did go to bed shortly after we got back. Henry was a bit hyper and he was not happy that we missed the vroom vroom show (Top Gear) since he had been talking about it all the way home. "Vroom vroom on, mommy." I managed to go to bed in a fairly decent mood considering how the day started. :-)

Sunday Pancakes and Living on Mars

Sunday dawned with....SUN! No rain no rain no rain! Finally! My mom and I got the kiddies dressed and went to the pancake breakfast at church. Roo was very good there and ate a lot of food. She was a big fan of the ham. Surprising but good. She chowed down like a trooper while Henry was his usual antsy self picking at his food like a bird. He did eat a lot of sausage. Hmmm. My kids are carnivores. As usual the breakfast was yummy and for the four of us to eat it was only ten dollars. That's a good deal! We got there at 11:30 which turned out to be a good time. After we served ourselves and sat down the place got super busy. Henry went peepee on the big potty twice while we were there. I was very pleased. My mom and I were trying to enjoy a second cup of coffee when a huge group of people came in. They filled the entire table we were at plus more. I decided it was time to leave. It was way to hot in there and getting noisy too. As soon as we stood up our places were taken.

At home I put the kids down for their nap. I was planning on enjoying the quiet and reading. Lu Lu cuddled with me in the chair. BBC America was playing a marathon of the show "Life on Mars" which I had seen a few episodes of some time ago. Mom and I decided to watch. It was very good. I loved the crappy flat that the main character lived in. What a dump. My mom, who has been to England several times including in the seventies, said the flat was typical of England in the 1970's. (And that's not a insult people!) I managed to watch the majority of the shows while doing laundry, cooking, etc. There is an American version starting this week on ABC. Since it is on Thursday at ten I think I will give the first episode a chance. TV Guide gave it an 8 out of 10 so I am hoping it will be good. I used to watch Coupling on BBC America but the American version was horrible so I am crossing my fingers on this show.

It seems like we didn't do much yesterday but it was a full day with more than just tv watching. Although I also watched Tru Blood (do they spell it with an "e"? I can't remember). I read that entire book series before I knew it was going to be a tv show. Needless to say they have changed a great many things and I am not pleased. I also watched Mad Men. And a little of Dexter which is another book series and has been greatly altered. But seriously there was more to the day then tv! I swear! Really! Why are you looking at me like that? Anyhoo...I recommend the BBC Life on Mars and the book series for Tru Blood (which is not a title for any of the books...author is Charlaine Harris...1st book Dead Until Dawn). The Dexter series is a bit gruesome but if you like that....

Anyway, it is time to go tell my noisy children that they are meant to sleep when put to bed...

Thank God it was Friday!

After a hellish week I was lucky enough to have a great friend take me out to the bar. My darling Shannon and I went out Friday night. My kind mother took care of the kiddies allowing me the chance to relax and have grown up talk. I drove to Shannon's new house and got the grand tour. I also met Peanut, a very cute doggie that I think has the hots for me. Shannon says he humps everyone but I am sure I am special...not just another leg. I love Shannon's house. It has a lot of room and is going to be a great place for Shannon and her husband to live. After the tour we went to McManigals, a bar down by Morton Salt. I am not a big drinker. I rarely drink since I have to be the one to function and take care of the kids each day (hubby is on the road) so it was a big deal. We both had a "rum runner" which is a mini pitcher of lots of rum and some fruity drink. I don't know what's in it besides that but it sure was good! After that we decided to just talk and not drink anymore. It was so great to talk about all the crazy crap going on right now and it was even better to hear someone else's stories. I love when other people have messed up relatives and can relate to my nutty family. We decided to have one more drink which later turned out to be not such a good idea. Shannon ordered us vanilla vodka and cranberry juice. Wow! For one I did not know you could get vanilla vodka and two it was sooo yummy! I highly recommend it. Anyway we left after that drink. It was a late night out for me which ended at 11pm. Yeah...late. It was such a fabulous time and a well needed break from the crazy life. Thank you Shannon!
But.....the next day.....I woke up with a bad headache and a yucky tummy. It was not the worst or even near the worst hangover I ever had (I used to party when I was young and stupid) but it was unexpected. You'd think I would have known it would happen but it has been a long time since I had that much to drink and really didn't know what I could handle. Thankfully my mom let me sleep a bit and was a great help with the kids. We didn't do much that day since it was yet another grey, wet day. It was a good day anyway. My mom can be cool when she wants.
I have a better mind set for the start of the week now.
My dog Chang and Mom's dog Heinz snooze together.

Grandma's favorite poochie Heinz a.k.a. Heiny

Mud Rucking At Grandma's

Shockingly the rain stopped for half an hour today. Long enough for us to get boots on and head outside. The rain we've had all week is just adding to the short tempers. The sunshine was a huge welcome today. We mucked about in Grandma's yard. Grandma gets a lot of deer through her yard each day and they do not have very good manners. They poop a lot and they poop anywhere and everywhere. Hence the outside boots. No deer poopy allowed in the house! The kids enjoyed the fresh air even if it was a bit on the chilly side. Henry loves to splash in puddles and today he was allowed to splash away. Irene clomped round in her boots. When we were all too cold to remain outside we decided to go for a ride just to be out of the house for a little bit longer. Thank goodness we decided to take cover because the rain rain rain came down down down and washed away our piglet (sorry too much Winnie the pooh).
The kids are actually napping right now. Surprisingly they are quiet and went down without any hassle. Of course Irene did have a HUGE temper tantrum during lunch so perhaps she is tired from all that drama. I would like a BIG glass of wine right now but it is rather early (1pm) so I think I'll wait. I don't drink except on the rare occasion but this week has been a very difficult one...so I am planning on a little outing with a certain friend tonight!!!

Why Can't My Daughter Sleep?

From the time she was born Irene has been a bad sleeper. Henry will wake up and lay in bed enjoying the quiet. He actually sleeps too. Irene hates to sleep. She gets mad when you put her to bed, anything wakes her, and she doesn't sleep for long. Right now she is crying because the dogs went crazy barking and woke her up. But will she go back to sleep like Henry? NO! There are days that by the time she goes to bed I am almost nuts with having listened to her scream and whine. Don't get me wrong...I love the stinker but she is sooooo over the top with everything. You can't look at her wrong or she is having a fit. I feel like I never get a minute to myself. And there is no letting her "cry it out." That only makes her scream...really scream, like "these people are killing me" scream.

She is a super funny girl and she knows how to cute it up but geez kid...stop with the DIVA attitude.

In all honesty our current housing situation is adding a lot to my frayed nerves. It is hard to do anything here when she is awake and since she doesn't sleep much...Well I can't get things done. Showering has become a nightmare and I NEED my shower. Gotta have it. Get really upset without it. It is a strange hold-over from the post-partum depression. So if I shower while she naps (or what I call a nip since it is so short) then I don't get any time to do other things. I am losing my mind. I wanted to banish my mother the other day for waking her up. Please don't move people! Don't even breath.

Her crying wakes Henry and then neither gets a good nap. So instead of just having a cranky Roo I also have a bratty Henry. And since I know this is how the day is heading I start getting edgy cause I know there will be no shower, no quiet, no easily made dinner. No it's going to be a hellish afternoon and evening and I am already in anxiety over it. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

-thanks for letting me vent.

Henry's Third Birthday Party

On the 20th of September we had Henry's third birthday party. What fun! The theme was "Cars" of course. Henry is a major fan! But then he likes all cars, trucks, etc. We even had a "Cars" cake. My dad, brother Matt, sister-in-law Kaye, and nephew Eric came up from Lansing. Shannon and her husband Warren were there and friend Robin with her little girl Ali. The kids ranged from 8 months to 3 years so they mostly played with the toys and not each other. We had some friends and family that couldn't make it since they were out of town but the group we had was perfect.

Mark made hamburgers on the grill and we had some veggies and salad...no biggie cause you come to a party for the cake, right? Right? After lunch Henry opened his gifts. That was so much fun. He would open one and then play with it. We had to coax him to open another. And what great gifts! What a spoiled little boy ;-)! Grandpa, Uncle Matt, Aunt Kaye, and Eric gave him a big Handy Manny truck with all the tools that turns into a workshop where you can fix a toaster, fan, clock, etc. It talks and sings. Thanks guys :-( My brother has a major payback for that noisy gift coming for Christmas! Shannon and Warren gave Henry a big pack of vroom vrooms...a.k.a. matchbox cars. Robin and Ali gave him vintage Coke trucks set. Henry loved that too. Grandma gave him a wooden Thomas the Tank Engine set and the "Henry" train. Uncle Pete sent BMW racer wall appliques. Can't wait to put hose up in his room! These were the best gifts and he is truly a blessed little boy for having such generous family and friends.

After all the gift opening and playing we sang "Happy Birthday" and ate the yummy cake and ice cream. Henry had a wonderful time as did we all and it is a happy memory.

Toothpaste

Call me crazy but I am very particular about my toothpaste. And the toothpaste I like best I buy at the Dollar Tree (dollar store). It is not some crazy off brand either. It's Colgate whitening in gel form. I love it and I save some money too. I also buy my toothbrushes there since they sell the ones I like and it's a name brand too. Anyway last week I ran out of toothpaste but I did not have time to go to the Dollar Tree. Instead while I was at K-mart I bought Colgate toothpaste. I thought it was the same or at least similar to the other stuff that I wouldn't notice the difference. It was the most VILE toothpaste I have ever used! It was like brushing with a moldy, mossy flavored paste with just a tiny bit of mint thrown in. I honestly thought I was going to gag. After choking through the brushing my tongue felt weird until I gave in to the urge and drank some juice. And I could smell that moldy, mossy scent whenever I talked. There was no fresh breath to be had.

Needless to say I was back at the toothpaste savior (Dollar Tree) begging to be saved with minty fresh breath and clean teeth. I don't understand how toothpaste could 1. taste so rank and 2. be so different from one variety to another. The only thing I can think of is that the one from the dollar store is a gel and the one from K-mart was a paste. That's it. That's the only difference I can come up with that doesn't involve my being poisoned by nefarious schemers bent on destroying a stay-at-home mom. Stay away from the paste. You have been warned!Toothpaste bent on my destruction
Good toothpaste