Thanksgiving Festivites

Last Monday, we were invited to a Thanksgiving feast at Isabella's preschool, where they sang songs and told stories about Thanksgiving. Nick was one of the class helpers and made butter and popcorn and muffins with all the other Moms. This is the second year in a row that he has helped at this party and loves to do it. 

Isabella had to pick a vegetable that she wanted to be for the feast and we had to decorate a vest made out of a grocery bag with that vegetable. Last year, when the instructions were given to the other moms, I happened to be the class helper that day, and did not hear anything about these bag-vests. The day of the party, Nick called me and told me that I was supposed to have this vest done for that day. He was completely freaking out and felt like the loser parent with the only child who didn't have her homework done. As quick as I could, I made a vest at home and made a couple "Indian-Looking) prints on the front and wrote "Happy Thanksgiving" on the back. It was a sad looking vest, so this year, I was determined to redeem myself. Nick and I spent a couple hours on this thing and about $20. It was worth it.

Doesn't Nicholas look happy to be a participant of the feast this year?

Because I am such a wonderful baker, I chose to bake the pies instead of buy them at Patterson's. Never again. Not that I don't enjoy baking, but a pie is a pie. Especially when you buy it from one of the biggest apple and pumpkin farms in the area and they bake them fresh daily from scratch. And sell them for about $12. Sooo not worth the time and mess to do it yourself. 

Nicholas was a huge help, and made sure there was as much flour on the counter and floor as possible.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my sister's house. The tables were decorated spectacularly and the food was fabulous. But, the dinner conversation was stellar. I quote, "Sarah Palin is a bull---- son of a -----" Thankfully, my brother in law did not have a stroke right there at the table.

Oliver is the newest member of the Z family. He's only been living there for a few weeks. Doesn't he look uncomfortable with all the loud people in the house?

He didn't even mind the heckling boy.



Happy Thanksgiving!! Hope everyone enjoyed the day!

Dog Treats for Dinner

Here's a funny little story that made us all laugh at the dinner table.

I buy "Canine Carryouts" dog treats for Gio and he gets one every time he goes potty outside. (Which is a lot. And now he's a big fatty.) But, that's beside the point. This is what the dog treats look like.

Last night I made cottage ham for dinner. For those of you who have never had cottage ham, this is what it looks like.

Nicholas took a couple bites, and said, "Mmm, this is yummy. Is it dog food?"

Yes. Yes it is. I just didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight, so I reached my hand into that big ol' bag of dog treats and plopped some on your plates.

I'm not sure which is more disturbing. The fact that he thought it was yummy, even though it may have been dog food, or the fact that it would be completely acceptable for me to serve dog treats to my family for dinner.

So Funny, These Teenagers

Taylor has had several days in a row with constant activities, and little sleep. Last night I was sitting in the school cafeteria during a meeting, on someone else's phone, listening to my husband tell me that my 9 year old niece was being taken to the hospital for pneumonia, with Taylor chirping in my other ear asking if she could have her new boyfriend over for a couple hours. In that moment of weakness, I agreed.

In walks the boyfriend with roses and candy. For me????? I say. No I didn't say that. I was on the phone, so I couldn't gush too much over it, which Taylor was probably very thankful of. I didn't have a chance to ask what the occasion was until 10:00 when he was leaving. When I did ask, this adorable, ridiculously tall young man held up his finger and confidently said "1 month". Me being the quick witted one looked blankly at them both and said "huh?" Then I finally got it. Ohhh, 1 month since they have been dating!!! Is that hysterical, or what? Woo-hoo we made it a whole 30 days!! That must feel like a lifetime to a 16 and 17 year old. I didn't share my humor in the situation with the kids. I didn't think they would appreciate it. All joking aside, I am enjoying watching this relationship develop. They seem to really care about one another and enjoy doing and saying nice things to each other. It is neat to see that a genuine friendship is forming.  

Halloween 2010

This was the first year that we only had 2 kids trick or treating. Poor Taylor had to work, and Shea decided that at her ripe old age of 14, she was beyond that stage of her life. She did walk with us and help the little kids get candy. And they both helped eat the candy.

This year Isabella decided to be Jasmine from the Disney movie "Aladdin". The costumes at the Disney Store are really awesome, and are made really well, but they are really expensive. If you wait till the week before Halloween, they usually mark their costumes off by 50%. Once we got to the Disney Store, Isabella took one look at the Ariel costume and immediately changed her mind. I reminded her that she was Ariel 2 years ago, but she didn't care. So we picked out the dress, the crown and a necklace and checked out. Wouldn't you know it that darn Ariel was not on sale?? I started to tell the lady that we needed to re-evaluate, but Isabella in her sweetest Isabella voice said "But Mommy, I just love Ariel so much. I will be the best Ariel ever!!" How do you say no to that? I'm a weakling - I couldn't say no. So 50 buckaroos is what I paid for that darn dress. Jasmine, by the way, was 50% off. (Wait, it gets better)

The day before her Halloween party at preschool, she kindly tells me that she thinks she likes Jasmine better, because Ariel is too itchy. I was slightly irritated, but was a little excited that I was going to spend less money. So we went back to the mall, exchanged Ariel for Jasmine, and I received a $30 credit on my charge. I was excited, she was excited, it was a good morning. ON THE WAY HOME......she started bawling her eyes out because she missed Ariel and wanted to be her for Halloween. I drove straight to the nearest mental facility and checked myself in. No I didn't. Instead I screamed my head off at her like some lunatic for a good 20 minutes and said that she was going to be Jasmine or I was pulling out her old Sleeping Beauty costume from last year and she'd have to suffer through being the same princess 2 years in a row. She saw the light and decided that Jasmine was pretty cool. I threw in some gold glitter and bright pink lipstick for good measure.

I thought it would be fun to let Nicholas decide what he wanted to be and gave him a catalog to look through that I had received in the mail. I had visions of him is some cute, cozy little lion suit or a giraffe or something cuddly and adorable. This is what he chose from the catalog.

It was the scariest, most grotesque costume that came in a little kid's size. I said Ummm, No!! We battled for a little while until I found a dinosaur costume in the catalog and convinced him that dinosaurs were scary because they could eat people. Easy peasy - he was going to be a dinosaur. Then we went to a costume store and he saw Spider Man. It was like the costume had a halo of light around it and a choir was singing. Spider Man was the winner. He wore it everyday. It had chocolate stains and a hole in the armpit by Halloween. 

We trick or treated in our old neighborhood again, which has become tradition. Nick's brother and his family still live there so we always get together at their house. My nephew Joseph (8) was the Scream guy, and my other nephew, Anthony (6) was Darth Vader.

Fall

As I've previously said, summer is my favorite season. I love it, love it, love it. I like the heat and the sun. I lived in Austin Texas for 2 years and survived 105 + temperatures just fine. I could live in the desert and be perfectly happy. Just give me a pair of sunglasses, a bathing suit and put my by the pool, and I would live out my days in sheer joy.

That being said, I also love fall. I like high school football games, changing leaves, warm days and cool nights, and the smell of it all.

We are lucky to have a pretty big yard that is very wooded. One of the kid's and my favorite things to do is go for walks in the woods and explore the nature. This is how we have been spending those nice days this fall. 

No one can resist the lure of a mucky, freezing cold creek.

Unless you fall in.

Tell us, Isabella. How did it make you feel when you fell on your rear end, got up, and instantly fell forward on your knees because your boots were stuck in the mud? Was it upsetting?

(I know what your thinking. I'm a sick person to take pictures of my own child's misfortune. Oh, chill out. I eventually helped her out of the creek after a few quick snaps of the camera.)

Jumping in a big leaf pile is the best.........

Unless you're Gio.

It's serious business hauling those leaves around.  

A Month in the Dark Ages

Holy canoli's!! We finally have internet again. How did I ever survive without it? Time Warner has been to our house 8 times in the last 4 weeks trying to determine what the prblem was. We started out with extremely slow connections to non-existent connections to the phone and security system not working. A couple of unlucky fellows tried to tell me that in was a speed issue and we needed to upgrade our speed. I unleashed a little fury on them and think I succeeded in letting them know that I was pretty certain that speed was not the problem. They never did really pinpoint the exact problem, but nevertheless, our Internet is finally working again.

So let me backtrack a little to the beginning of October when my darling little teenage girls went to Homecoming.

Taylor's date finally asked her the Monday afternoon before the dance. She had practice on Tuesday and Thursday nights, so that gave us Wednesday from 6 - 9 to buy dress. We found one at 8:45; 15 minutes before the mall closed and 45 minutes after Nicholas melted down. It was WAY over my budget, so we split it in half and both ran walked away happy. (With Nicholas arching his back and screaming in the stroller all the way through the mall to our car.)

After trying on every pair of black heels in Northeast Ohio, Shea found a pair of black flats that she was comfortable in and enabled her to not be taller than her date. A dilemma that I didn't think was a big deal, but she was adamant about.

Both girls had a great time, and Taylor started dating her date shortly after they went to the dance together. Shea decided that she wanted to remain strictly on a plutonic level with her date, who sadly did not feel the same way. The poor boy. I instantly liked him and was really pulling for him.

 



Long Days, Cheerleaders, Homecoming, Boys, and Dogs

This is how I feel lately. My kids probably think I look like this too. (Minus the big boobs, of course)


In the last month or so, this house has turned upside down, and I am just about ready to crack. Nick has been working some serious overtime lately. My father in law works for Nick and between the two of them, alternate the late nights at the office. My mother in law has been sick so my father in law has not been able to work. Therefore, Nick leaves for work at about 7:30 in the morning and comes home around 9:00 every night. I try not to complain, and I know it is out of every one's control, but these long days with no end in sight are wearing me down.


Because I love to spread myself as thin as possible, I decided to accept the position of Treasurer of the cheerleading group. I knew what I was getting myself into, and was ready to make big changes. There have been some discrepancies in past years with how the funds were monitored and allocated. The other parents and I were ready for a change. In the past couple weeks, I have found myself at the head of the group ready to take on the big bad coaches and fight for what is right. I am NOT a confrontational person. At all. Yet, I am about to declare war on a group of people who have been in their positions for 8 years. By day I am on the phone lining my ducks, and by night I lie in bed and wonder what in the heck I am doing. The ball has started rolling so I can't turn back now.  I have no idea what the outcome will be, nor who will back me up in the end. I am just going by what I think is right and I can't leave it alone until I have had my say.


On to the next subject. Homecoming is just around the corner and we have been in full swing preparing for it. For the past 2 years, Taylor has gone by herself with a group of people. She is a little bit of a late bloomer and was not ready for dates. Last year was not an enjoyable time for her with either the preparations or the event. And it certainly wasn't one of my finer memories. I decided that she was not allowed to go this year unless she was asked by a date. There was too much money involved and too much stress for her to go and feel like a 3rd wheel and not have fun. Homecoming is in 9 days. For 3 days, Taylor has been texting and talking to a boy at school. Last night at the dinner table I asked if there was a chance they could be going to the dance. I got the look. The one that says I just asked the most ridiculous question. But.....after dinner, she was perusing the internet looking at dresses. Lord help me.


Then there is Shea. Shea, Shea, Shea. My little grown-up 9th grader. She is NOT a late bloomer, and will be the death of me, I swear. She has 2 boys interested in her and was asked by one of them to go to the dance. Shea is about as casual as they come. She wears soccer shorts and t-shirts to school, and has never worn heels in her life. I was dreading shopping for a dress. It was a piece of cake and we found a dress in 1 hour. The shoes are giving us a little bit of trouble, but if she has to wear some fancy embellished flats, I don't think anyone will care. I have forbidden flip flops of any kind. Meanwhile, these two boys have begun a mild rivalry with each other, and Shea is caught in the middle.

This brings me to the next issue that keeps me awake at night when I am not thinking about fundraising money and treasurers. What are my rules going to be about dating? Shea has become the guinea pig on this subject, and I have told her to be patient with me. I have been compiling thoughts on rules and regulations and am about to have a long talk with this gal. To make matters more difficult, one of the boys is a 10th grader and the other is an 11th grader. (Who is about to get his driver’s license). I have Nick in my ear repeating over and over again that he doesn’t like it and I need to put a stop to it, and I have Shea in the other ear telling me it’s not a big deal. I fall somewhere in the middle. It’s enough to make me go insane.



Lastly, my precious little Gio has been driving me crazy and costing me tons of money. In the past month he ate a poisonous mushroom from our yard and almost died. He got neutered and had 4 teeth pulled. He has chewed every toy, book, puzzle, sock and shoe left on the floor. And he has learned that chasing cars down our street while his owner is running after him screaming “You want a treat?!” is tons of fun. No, the husband does not know best. It was NOT a mistake to get a dog!

Better days must be coming my way soon.

Back to Pre-School

 I have 6 hours and 45 minutes a week with one child. What ever will I do? Hmmmm........I haven't a clue. One thing is for certain.....Nicholas is going to love it.

Dogs and Me

I am a relentless person when I want something. Whatever it may be, it consumes me until I get it. I will tell my story of our 2 golden retrievers, Skeet and Hunter. When Nick and I got married 8 years ago, I started my what I like to call "the wear-down process" on Nick. I wanted a dog for our little family of 4. Not just any dog, mind you. I wanted a Golden Retriever. I began talking about it constantly. Nick kept saying no; he wasn't ready for a dog. We both worked too much and the kids wouldn't take care of it. But I kept at him day after day. One Sunday morning when Taylor and Shea were at their dad's house, Nick and I were at Bruegger's Bagel having our coffee. I was perusing the Sunday paper and just so happened to come across the Pet classified. What do you know, an ad for Champion Bloodline Golden Retriever puppys! Let's just go see them, I said with my sweetest, most charming smile I can muster. I saw his shoulders slump slightly in defeat and I knew I had him. We drove out to the middle of nowhere and all the while Nick told me over and over again that we were not buying a dog. We were just looking. I know, I know. Have you ever seen a golden puppy? Have you ever seen 12 of them climbing over each other to get to you? It's enough to bring a hardened criminal to his knees. We fell in love with these little guys. There was one in particular that I really liked, but another one, would not leave me alone. I decided on the one that I wanted and Nick conceded. He wanted him just as badly. The other little boy just would not stay away from me, though. So my husband, the most sensible man in the world, suggested that we buy both males. Hmmm, can we do it? Keep in mind, at the time, we were living in a 1200 square foot bungalow with a postage stamp yard. We decided to put a deposit on the one and talk to our vet to see what the difficulties would be in having 2 puppies. I'm not sure if it was the next day or a couple days later that we were out to dinner for New Years Eve. All I could think about was the little one that we didn't choose. I told Nick we had to get them both and I didn't care what he had to do. So we got them both and brought them home about 3 weeks later. And when I tell you that I was in Heaven, that is no joke. These 2 puppies were so darn cute and fun,  I couldn't get enough of them. They were my new little twin babies.


But......Almost instantly, there were issues. They were up every 1-2 hours whining. Because I treated them like babies, Nick and I were taking them outside every time they whined. We were totally dragging at our jobs over the next several weeks. I think they did that for about 2 months until our vet scolded us and told us we were out of our minds. That ended, but as they got bigger, they got stronger, and naughtier. They were dragging the kids and me down the street on walks, and running away if they got loose. They were eating our furniture and our food in the pantry closet. Nick and I used to take turns coming home for lunch and some days I would walk in to what looked like the after math of a tornado inside our house. Cushions would be over turned with stuffing every where. Half the food in our pantry would be ripped to shreds and food crumbs scattered all over the kitchen and living room floor. The kids most precious toys would be chewed up and completely destroyed. On top of all that, we learned that our "Champion Bloodline" dogs had hip dysplasia.


When we moved into our new house, we thought they would get better because they would have so much room to run around in and outside. It didn't improve at all. It quickly got worse. They left huge claw marks in the drywall by the door about 3 weeks after we moved in. In fact, the builder was still finishing up some last items. (Which was a positive since his workers were able to come right over and fix the walls.) They would jump up to the counters and kitchen table when I wasn't looking to grab whatever food they could snag. One evening when I was cleaning the kitchen, one of them stole a freshly opened container of Country Crock off the dinner table and ate the entire thing. About an hour later, he vomited the entire thing back up in the MIDDLE of our great room carpet. I cleaned it up and scrubbed the heck out of it. But they could still smell the butter and chewed up all the carpet in the area because it smelled like butter. We were in the house for about 5 months and we had a massive hole in the center of our floor. They scratched the wood running up the stairs (a place they were forbidden to go). They scratched our new bedroom furniture from Pottery Barn within a few months of having it. They ate about 10 pounds of candy the evening before Easter so that we had to drive to Walmart and rummage through whatever was left to fill baskets the next morning. All the while trying to get the house ready to entertain our entire family the next day for Easter dinner. There are 100 more things that they did to drive me mad and put a wedge between Nick and me. If only I had written a book about the boys before Marley and Me was published. I would have been a very rich woman.


Isabella had just turned 1, and I was about 3 months pregnant with Nicholas, and feeling like absolute crap. After 5 years, I got on the phone with the breeder and she agreed to take them back. Nick dropped the dogs off the next week and it ended up being one of the hardest things we ever did. We have second guessed our decision almost every day for 3 years. We felt like failures and we felt like we abandoned them. It made me feel like the biggest loser that I couldn't control 2 dogs. It was terrible, terrible, terrible.


Fast forward 2 years. Last summer the kids started bugging us for a dog. We discussed doing some research and finding a breed that we could handle, and then learn how to train a dog. I said I would be ready in 1 year. Nick said NEVER.

About 6 months later, I started looking at different types of dogs and trying to determine what we (mostly I) could handle. I started making it a weekend thing to do with the kids to go visit the puppies at the pet store. Nick would go and play with them but say absolutely not when anyone asked if we could get one. By April, I started really getting serious and happened to find one that I absolutely loved. I was hooked. He was a little dog and had been at the pet store for a long time. He was a mix between a Shitzu and a bichon frise. That's when the maniac came out of me. All I talked about was the puppy. I did research, I called groomers and vets. All my ducks were in a row, and all I had to do was talk Nick into it. The kids promised him that they would help. We promised there would never be poop in the living room or holes in his shoes and scratches in our hardwood dining room floors. He went to the pet store the next day to see the puppy one more time and found that it had been sold the night before. I was devastated. My poor little baby was with another family??? How could that happen?? So I went back to start my process all over again and found this little guy.  

I was on a mission after I saw him. He was similar to the other one, but was a mix between a Lhasa Apso and a Bichon Frise. He was teeny-tiny, weighing in at about 3 pounds. He had an awesome personality and was so darn cute. I made Nick go up to see him a couple days later and I started begging. Before we walked in he told me that if they didn't accept the price the he was willing to pay, we were leaving. I said that I understood, and crossed my fingers. My husband, the major negotiator, got what he wanted and so did the kids and I.


We brought him home on May 1st and after deliberating for about 2 weeks, we named him Giovanni. We call him Gio for short. He is adorable and sweet and as naughty as a 2 year old boy. He and Nicholas are partners in crime.


He loves the water and loves the dirt, and he plays ball like a lab. This is not the froofy dog that I was expecting, and I love it.