Halfway to 100

A while back I started 100 things about me - which turned into 50 things about me, so I have been inspired to try and reach my 100 things. Here we go:

51. I have been in 44 states
52. My theme song is, "You Drive Me Crazy"
53. I sing this song to my girls
54. I can't sing
55. When I sing #52 my girls tell me to be quiet
56. I have a high bed
57. I use a step stool to get into bed
58. I prefer red wine
59. I prefer sweets over salts
60. My dream car right now would be a Honda CRV
61. I watched the first five seasons of 24 in four months
62. I reached my lifetime goal with weight watchers
63. I'm currently above my goal weight
64. I need to start counting points again
65. I played field hockey in high school
66. I also was a cheerleader
67. I have eaten cake for breakfast
68. I have done this more than once
69. I took guitar lessons for one year
70. I like road trips with my family
71. I don't like the feeling of my stomach jumping out when I am on a roller coaster
72. I like my steak prepared medium
73. Salad dressing served on the side is a good thing
74. I enjoy the taste of real butter
75. Especially on warm homemade bread
76. I like food - can you tell - see # 63
77. I prefer to exercise in the morning
78. I was involved in 4-H while growing up
79. I like cottage, vintage and modern country decorating
80. I like organizational books
81. I would like to be more organized
82. I am the shortest of all my female cousins
83. I do not like avocados
84. I do not like guacamole
85. # 83 & # 84 do not like me
86. I watched Zoolander while in labor with my first child
87. I do not like this movie
88. My girls have seen more Disney movies than me
89. However,I do like Beauty & the Beast
90. I think Trader Joe's is a great grocery store
91. I wish they would put one in our area
92. Little Caesars $5 pizza's make a great meal when I am in a pinch
93. I don't like mice
94. I learned to set a mouse trap when I was 22
95. Did I mention my first apartment had mice?
96. I play Settlers of Catan almost every Sunday night
97. My Myers Briggs personality rating is an EXFJ
98. I spent a summer in Prague
99. I have been in six different countries
100. I spend too much time reading blogs

Spring Break In Review

I'm finally getting around to blogging about our spring break. I think the weather has put me in a mood and it has slowed down my blogging. I know everyone has heard a lot about the weather, but I think this conversation with my daughter sums it up the best:

"Olivia, what are you doing?" asked by me as I notice Olivia looking out the slider.
Olivia responds, "Just checking out the weather - it is kind of goofy!"

On to vacation - it was a lot of fun - close to 2,000 miles on our Honda! I had a lot of fun flying to see my friend and hanging out with her and another girlfriend in the DC area. It was the first time that I got to eat at the Cheesecake Factory - yummy. Make sure if you eat there to save room for dessert!

Jim and the girls had a good trip (by car) especially with a DVD player in the car (thanks to Aunt Patti)! They even managed an early morning swim at the hotel pool. I'm not sure if you ask Jim what his response would be about driving solo with the girls - maybe after time he will forget the "moments" of crying in the car.

We had a lot of fun with our friends in Richmond, visiting the cousins and staying with Mimi and Poppie. I've included some pictures - after all a picture is worth a thousand words!

My Bags Are Packed

I had a difficult time deciding what to title this post. It could have easily been called Husband of the Year Award!! You see, my bags are packed and in less than two hours I am heading to the airport to travel to DC. I will be spending three days with my best friend - with no girls or husband. Then, my husband and girls will be taking the 14 plus hour drive to meet me at some other friends in Richmond. The amazing thing is this was my husband's idea! How blessed I am!!! I will miss them, but I'm also excited about a few days "by myself" with a good book and maybe some knitting. Speaking of knitting - I finished my first sock!!! Notice I said, "sock" the singular noun - I still have another one to go in order to have a pair.

The Pacifier

Bring up the word pacifier among mom's and you will get a lot of different opinions. However, right now that is not what I want to talk about. For our family - the pacifier has been a wonderful thing!! Our oldest daughter was pictured leaving the hospital with the paci flinging right in and out of her mouth. Our youngest daughter has learned to enjoy her paci as much as her sister did. We do have a couple of rules with the pacifier - when the child turns two - they only get their pacifier when sleeping (naps & bedtime) and when they turn three - they all get thrown out. Let's just say we are a "cold turkey family".

Well we just had a major melt down with our 2 1/2 year old daughter (at the paci only while sleeping stage). She was getting ready for her nap and got her paci a little early (Mommy is a softy), she was doing her pre nap routine (i.e. going to the potty). Well, she had her paci in her mouth, and she must have opened her mouth while she flushed the toilet and the paci "flushed away". Yikes!! She was so upset, she was shaking and the tears were a flowing! We do have back ups paci's but this one was her favorite. She said, "we need to call Daddy so he can get my paci out of the toilet". How do you explain to a 2 1/2 year old that it is gone? I hope this isn't a preview for when she turns three.

50 Things!

I enjoy reading different blogs and I have seen a number of blogs in which people write about 50 things about them - so here it goes:
1. My daughter was born on my birthday
2. I ran my first 5K race at age 35
3. I once had a summer job doing construction work
4. It was working for my Dad
5. I have been in 5 car accidents
6. None were my fault
7. Since 1991 I have always owned a Honda vehicle
8. None of them have been a mini van
9. I knew my husband less than four months before we were engaged
10. We were married in less than a year from meeting each other
11. I once spent a birthday in California
12. Both my parents and in-laws are celebrating 40 years of marriage this year
13. My favorite color is green
14. I graduated from college in four years
15. Without going during the summer
16. I have never watched an entire episode of Saturday Night Live
17. I have been caught crying while watching the Olympics
18. Fall is my favorite season
19. I enjoy watching football
20. I belong to a fantasy football league
21. I know how to shoot a gun
22. I have actually gone hunting
23. I have one sister
24. I had an epidural with both of my labors
25. I think the epidural is one of the best inventions
26. Costco is my favorite store
27. Sometime we go to Costco for lunch (to eat samples)
28. I'm not a night person
29. I'm not a morning person
30. I'm not an afternoon person
31. I'm a late morning person
32. I don't like roller coasters
33. I am a bag person
34. I'm not a shoe person
35. I like to decorate
36. My surroundings are important to me
37. I enjoy Country music
38. However, I don't get to listen to it that much
39. I like to look at magazines
40. I enjoy reading
41. Breakfast is my favorite meal to eat out
42. Coffee and tea are my favorite beverages
43. I have learned to like diet coke
44. I don't like potty training
45. I was a home economics teacher for eight years
46. I am really bad when it comes to technology
47. My family means the world to me
48. My faith in Jesus is the most important thing
49. My husband is my greatest gift on earth
50. This list was suppose to be to 100 - I made it 50

I encourage all of you to share 50 (or 100) things about yourself!

One of Those Days

I don't know if I should laugh or cry today - I think I did both!! The day started out great! Both of my girls slept in to 7:40 AM!!! For our family, this is sleeping in and I'm sure the time change helped.

I was getting the girls breakfast and I noticed a "smell" coming from my youngest daughter, "Livie, did we have an accident?" This was after an entire week of no accidents. So off to the bathroom and a quick bath.

Then, it was time to drop off Kelsey at preschool and Mommy & Livie went to Meijers. This was actually a successful trip. I dread going to Meijers, but all was well.

After the preschool pickups and lunch was started Livie was crying in her room (did I mention she was in a timeout?)Well, I ran(okay I walked) up to her room to see what the problem was - yep she was wet - another clean up and carpet clean up as well.

Then lunch..... followed by another accident with the big "D" - which meant two loads of laundry, mega carpet cleaning, bathroom cleaning, wall cleaning (don't ask) and another bath!! I'm leaving a number of details out and pictures.

It was definitly one of those days....

Good Night!!

Here is a picture of my youngest daughter, as I try and put her to sleep. As you can see - she needs a lot of extra's in order to go to bed. I don't know how she is able to sleep and keep track of all of her "bed buddies".