Wednesday, November 28, 2007

My day in numbers.

10-Diapers changed. So far.

22-Catalogs in today's mail. Running total for the last 3 days....63!?!

12- time I have tried to go online to post.

4.5-hours of sleep Charles & I got last night.

9-tangerines consumed today. Yay for vitamin C.

1-Christmas card rec'd! Huh? It is still November! Talk about being organized!

0-photos I've taken today. Shocking, really.

50-times I have said "No", "Stop it", "Enough" and "Leave (insert any name you choose) alone". Okay maybe that # is incorrect....let's go with 100. It has been one of those days!

2-Out-of-town guests that arrived last night. My fil's sister, Nancy and his niece, Nickie are here. I can't wait to finally meet them.

1-box arrived....scratch 2 off Santa's list :)

1-mid-afternoon bath due to miscalculated move by Mom....chocolate covered cookie, that should explain it all!

2-of Natalie's molars are breaking through.

27-days til Christmas.

22-days til Winter break.




Sunday, November 25, 2007

Where do I begin?

To say that I am behind on posting is truly an understatement. So here goes....prepare for another contender for the longest post ever and probably the most random.



While my Gram Jo was here, we took her to the zoo.



And to the park.
Before my grandmother headed back to upstate New York, I took her to one of the casinos here. She has never been to a casino! We had no luck, but at least she can say she went! It was fun to have a little time alone with just her. We miss her so much already.





On our way to Daisy scouts, I pulled over to take a pic of the view from our neighborhood. I had my small camera, so the pics don't do the view justice.

She had so much fun at Daisy Scouts. They rec'd certificates and made a yummy treat. It was pretty cute. They each poured an ingredient and each of the ingredients signified an important part of being a daisy scout. Like marshmallows for sticking together, etc. They loved that they were doing it all together.



Michael & Natalie have been playing well together lately. Lindsey & Michael too....are we turning a corner here? I hope so!Grandpa Ralph & Lindsey having some quality time together.

For Charles' birthday, I made lasagna and the kids & I made him a chocolate cake! For a change, we made him a coffee cake for breakfast...instead of our tradition of cinammon rolls.



Yes, that is Michael sleeping with his eyes OPEN.....creeps me out, sometimes.



This picture to show you our new rug. You like? Natalie has extremely curly hair. The kind when she takes a bath, there are really tight curls all over her head. I love it, but don't know what to do about it. Combing it out seems to make it frizz. Letting it air dry keeps the curl, til the next morning....she looks like Grandpa from the Munsters or as we sometimes affectionately call her Einstein, after Albert. Then it is just an unruly mess. I have tried barrettes.....all of them fall out. She has super fine hair. Also, where her hair is growing in is part of the problem. A patch in the front, a patch on each side above her ears and a patch in the back. HUH? So, I tried a ponytail(see above) and it just looked plain weird. It would have been cute if I could have pulled some of her hair from the front back to add to the pony, but that wouldn't work. It just looked to messy. Any ideas?





Lindsey finally got to use her paint set.......I will take some photos of her art when I get a chance. She really does well.
This is just to make you laugh. She was about to give me a kiss...See what I mean about her hair?
Lindsey just relaxing in the yard.
Lindsey showing off her Thanksgiving card she rec'd from Aunt Nancy. Thank you, Aunt Nancy for all of our cards. You are so thoughtful.




Two cool shots courtesy of Lindsey's photography skills.




Michael's turkey he made at school. Every time I look at it, it makes me smile.





Lindsey invited us to her Kindergarten's Family Feast. So we all went...except Tyler(poor kid had school). Our little pilgrim sang songs, recited poems and served us our lunch. She was proud to show off her little brother and sister.
Lindsey's (and Tyler's) fun-loving Kinder teacher is going in for a full hip replacement surgery this week. We will keep her in our prayers. She is such a wonderful teacher and person, we can't wait to see her back to her pain-free self!


This is the only picture I have of our turkey day....the aftermath of it anyway. We had a great day and I was so happy of how all the food turned out. Just happy to have all of our family together!
Did I mention, Natalie slept through the ENTIRE meal? It was not as hectic worrying about her, but I missed her.



Here is our Cinderella cleaning up her mess.
After cleaning, she was thirsty.....don't worry it was empty!
Babies just love soda bottle don't they?


After baths, we headed out to look at Christmas lights. It was getting pretty bad when I would see a light and say "Look kids, a strand of white lights!" They were not so impressed. Until we saw this house. At least our ride wasn't a total bust!
After our unsuccessful light fest, we watched WKRP in Cincinnati, the turkey episode. "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!" Still a classic.


Blackout Friday, I went nowhere! Nowhere! I put new shelf liner in the cupboards. Does that just scream excitement or what?



I hope that catches you up a little on our lives here in Scavoville.



Wednesday, November 21, 2007

So very thankful.

As most people do at this time of year, we realize all that we have to be thankful for. For me today it was:

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who thought ahead to take the day off and spend with us @ Lindsey's Family feast(pics to follow later).

I am so thankful that my 3 youngest were on their best behavior during the feast. I am so proud of them.

I am so thankful to hear that my father-in-law made the decision to go for chemo.

I am so thankful that we have enough room to invite 15 guests to our home for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

I am so thankful that they want to come to our home for dinner!

I am so thankful to Janice for putting that extra smile on Charles' face. Have I mentioned how lucky we are to have you in our lives?

I am so thankful that Tyler was kind to his siblings today and helped me clean up.

I could go on and on....because let's face it, we all have so, so, so much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Had to share.

My good friend, Kristal, passed this funny along to me today and I had to share it with you.

"How to know whether or not you want kids"-

Mess Test
Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.-

Toy Test
Obtain a 55 gallon box of Legos (you may substitute roofing tacks if you wish). Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold and take off shoes. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.-

Grocery Store Test
Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.-

Dressing Test
Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.-

Feeding Test
Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from theceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls ofso ggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane.Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.-

Night Test
Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds of sand.Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00pm, begin to waltz and hum with the baguntil 9:00pm. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00pm. Get up, pickup your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00am. Set alarm for 5:00am. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.-

Ingenuity Test
Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Use only scotch tape and a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty box of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.-

Automobile Test
For get the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it into the CD player. Take a family-size package of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a rake along both side of the car. There,perfect!-

Physical Test (Women)
Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes.Leave it there for 9 months. Then remove the beans. And try not to noticeyour closet full of clothes. You won't be wearing them for a while.-

Physical Test (Men)
Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerkto help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the headoffice and arrange for your paycheck to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.-

Final Assignment
Find a couple who already has a small child. Lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, and toilet training and child's table manners. Suggest many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run wild. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.


So funny, yet true....... Can you relate to one more than the others? Sadly, I can relate to them all.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Charles is 42!



42 things you thought you knew about Charles.






1-He is a wonderful father.



2-He is a wonderful husband.



3-He is a wonderful son.



4- He is a wonderful brother.



5- He is a wonderful friend.



6- Have I mentioned he is wonderful?



7- He loves sour candies....especially sour patch kids.



8-Once, he built a koi pond in his parents backyard.



9-He is loyal.



10-His favorite childhood cereal was Wheaties with wheat germ and sugar on top.....




11-He has an amazing smile.




12-To go along with his amazing eyes.




13-When he was young, he looked just like John Travolta. Now that he is a little older, some say he looks like a cross between Travolta and Alec Baldwin.




14-He makes me laugh every single day.




15-He was born in Staten Island.




16-Moved to Arizona when he was 13.....talk about culture shock!




17-Favorite sport? Baseball, all the way.




18-Spinach and egg sandwich was his favorite lunch, his Mom would make him.




19-He is still friends with his group of high school friends. Most of them were at our wedding!




20-He has the sexiest hands!




21-He plays with our children....alot!




22-He falls asleep every night from 9-10, and then wakes up for the news.




23-He loves gardening.




24-He has one older sister.




25-A super-light sleeper...that he has passed on down to Michael.




26-He has asthma.




27-He is allergic to cats....but still visits with my parents and grandmother(they have 3 each)!




28-Spent the night at the hospital with me for each of our children's birth.




29-Knew Kate Walsh. And everytime we see something she is in, I have to hear that she used to say"I'm just a girl named Kate". Every single time!




30-Graduated from the UofA.




31-Bonded with Tyler in a way, I never thought someone could.




32-He is a terrific cook.




33-He LOVEs salt.




34-Any time he has a drink...juice, iced tea. He has to water it down.




35-Like his whole family, he eats salad after dinner.




36-One of his favorite artists is Tina Turner. Favorite song by her? Steamy Windows.




37-He planned our honeymoon in one afternoon, after the 9/11 attacks changed our original plans. He took care of it all and it was wonderful.




38-He is sensible with money, a great saver.




39-He has the kindest heart. When he was in high school and throughout college, he would go to his next door neighbors house and help his elderly neighbor put her husband to bed! She wasn't capable of carrying him and it saved them the money of having to hire an aide at night. Even when he was at parties, he had his friends drive him over and he would carry the man to bed. Is that the sweetest or what?




40-He is a complete germaphobe, but having kids has relaxed him a bit. He has learned to go with the flow with them.




41-He built our ramada in our back yard.




42-We are truly blessed to have him in our lives. He is simply the best!

Happy Birthday, Charles!

Wednesday, November 07, 2007