An End to a Season

Charlie coached Baby this season in soccer. Their team was the Penguins (chosen by Baby and voted on by the team.) Baby's best friend Brandon was on the team and his mom, Christy was the assistant coach. Both Charlies learned a lot and had a lot of fun doing so.

Trick or Treat

Jackson as Darth Vader
Baby as a Buccaneer
Maddie as Yoda (because her witch costume mysteriously shrunk or she grew)

The Catch of the Day

Here are some pics of my fishers of men fishin at a boy scout outing. Jack had a blast, but caught nothin. He had a few big bites and tugs, and almost pulled one out but it got loose. Despite no fish for dinner, the two of them had a great time spending quality time with each other.

Pirates of the Urban Akron

Shiver Me Timbers! Our Halloween Party was the 1st of November. Did I mention that the theme was pirates? We had about 45 guests in all; a lot of traditional pirates, some Seven Seas Sirens, a creative Treasure Chest and a guy that sells pirated dvds and music. Three people apparently didn't get the memo about the get up because we had two dress as themselves and one come as a used car salesman. They had no one but themselves to thank when we made them walk the plank! Aaaargh! We got rid of our scurvy by eating up tons of fresh fruit and drinking Jolly Roger Rachelle's Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Rum (literally). We gorged on meatballs and sausage con queso with tortilla chips.

One for the Hone's once rumored to be of Hartville, OH

Shannon, I finally see where Todd gets his "streets."
I was dying laughing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiJKqpdWQJ0

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You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Take Me out to the Ballpark

Today was Madison's first official baseball practice.

The weather was beautiful. Sunny and warm.

There were 4 other kids from last year and ANOTHER GIRL from two years ago...YEAH!!! She won't be the only girl on the team.

She told the coach she was interested in playing second again and maybe taking a shot at pitching, which was a surprise to me, but I think she'll do well at it.

The boys start practice next week. Charlie is going to coach their T-ball team. Baby gets to play even though he's still too young. The commissioner of the league asked if he wanted to at sign ups and said he'd let it slide. That is great, cuz he's getting tired of just watching the older too play.

We're excited for the new season, though. It's always fun.

Wou Wascly Wabbit

Tonight I think I turned Madison into a Vegan or a Hunter.

We went down to Applecreek, OH to visit Charlie's brother, Rick, and wife, Leah who were in from Washington, D.C. They offered us rabbit disguised as BBQ chicken, but we could tell by their faces something was seriously wrong with the picture. Finally they admitted it was RABBIT.

So, as Mother of the Year, it became my mission to trick Madison into trying it. She was leary because everyone else was so concerned and involved in her trying this chicken. So I pull out what looks like a wing cuz she likes Papaw Dave's wings. She tries to bite into it but it's pretty tough. I'm still wondering why a rabbit has what looks like a wing. As Baby would say, "WEIRD."

So, I then give her the breast and take some off the bone. She eats it looking to see what she has just done. I ask if she likes, she nods kind of. I ask if she wants me to tell her what it really is or not. She says no. So I oblige. She looks worried so I say, "Would you feel better if I try some?" She shakes yes without hesitation. Misery loves Company.

I taste it. It tastes like chicken. However, I couldn't stop thinking that "THIS IS NOT CHICKEN YOU IDIOT EVEN IF IT TASTES LIKE IT THIS IS THUMPER."

I ask her again if she wants to know. She does. I tell her. And she looks at me like I was some kind of a damn fool.

In the end, I think she liked that she tried something different.

We all did tonight. Not only did I try Wabbit, but I also tried the hottest horseradish ever on a chunk of swiss cheese. Talk about clearing the sinuses. It's weird cuz my eyes watered and my throat closed like I was gonna cough to death, but instead it almost immediately simmered down to a hmmmm...that's weird-taste.

Baby also tried and loved clam dip. We told him it was ranch. What can I say??? We are a bunch of liars and he is rivaling his aunt Shannon for the Condiment King position in the Fam. He's like Mikey, he'll try anything with a little dip.

Dog Tired

Wow, You're a Border Collie!


Border Collie
The Achiever

You've heard about this "second-place ribbon" thing, but really don’t ever plan on getting one. Not a chance. Highly competitive, you keep one eye on the Best in Show prize and one on the rest of the pack, making sure you're always at least one paw ahead. You love your family and enjoy the company you keep, but you'd trade all of them in a heartbeat for a corner office and some meaty stock options. When you're not licking your professional coat, naked skydiving and triathlons keep you entertained. You idolize the top dog and will do so until you sniff out a way to take over the company and do a little "restructuring." Learn more »

FAMOUS BORDER COLLIES: Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Martha Stewart, Barbara Walters

LIKELY PROFESSIONS: CEO, Banker, Manager, Astronaut

Bowling for Columbine, I mean, Weaver

Charlie's been bowling for a while now on his league. He sucks. No, it's not mean to say that. He really does.

When he goes the kids talk about wanting to go to. So we've taken them twice now. Once was to a local alley with warped boards and balls with big chunks out of them. It reeked of smoke even though smoking in public has been out for over a year. But, it was a buck a game so we bowled. We had to keep manually resetting after each bowl and manually typing in the score.

The next time we decided to splurge and go to Stonehedge. It ended up being cheaper because Charlie's in the league and the guy didn't make us rent shoes. AND, the lanes kept score and reset all on their own. It was wonderful.

The kids loved it at both places.

Jackson does pretty good. We used the bumpers but he always scored best out of the kids and even came close to beating me.

Madison is hilarious because we all know she is very competitive and likes to do the best at EVERYTHING. We kept joking with her that we finally found what WASN'T her sport. She still did well, but couldn't beat little brother.

Baby has no idea if he wins or not. He runs up, drops the ball, and takes off for the cup of pop so no one else can get a sip. He never waits or asks what he got.

This is Getting Wii-diculous

Soooo. We got the Wii for the kids for Christmas with a bunch of games. They love it. Baby is Wii-dicted.

The first thing he says in the morning, "Mommy, can I be first on the wii?"

The first thing he says before school, "Mommy, but is there time for me to play the wii before we leave?"

The first thing before getting out of the car for school, "Mommy, when I come home can I be the first to play the wii?"

When I pick him up on our car ride home, "Mommy, tell Jack you said I could play the wii first! No, Jaaaaaaack! Mommy said I could."

The first thing after dinner, "Can I play the wii? Why not? I haven't played all day. Everyone else got to plaaaaaaay!"

He has a one tract mind. It is literally all he thinks about. In February, he even missed a couple days of school before I caught on. He kept saying his tummy hurt right before school, so I didn't want to send him and have him not feel well. The day I caught on and made him go, he through a fit. We were 10 minutes late to school because he refused to get out of the car. He just kept crying, "But I wanna pway da wiiiiiii." I took him in and told his teacher why he was crying and that he missed school to play the video games. I was expecting her to say how important school was, instead wii got, "I wish I could stay home to play the wii too. Do you have that bowling game, Charlie?" Thanks for the help, Teach.

I got to Josiah-sit, nah nah nah na boo-boo

Jessica let me babysit Josiah the other night for four hours while she went to Bingo with mom.

The little booger is adorable. He is so good natured and chill. He just ate and stared. Ate and stared. Oh and pooped up a storm.

He loves the ceiling fan, and we love him loving the ceiling fan. He just stares and stares at it. We laid a blankie on the floor with him on it and he was talking to us. Baby said, "Did he just say what I think he said." I said, "What?" Baby said, "Goo-Goo." (Baby in this excerpt refers to Lil Charlie, of course.)

We had a wonderful time and can't wait to do it again.

Party Like a Rockstar!

Charlie threw me a "Surprise" 30th Birthday party at the Pavillion on the River in Cuyahoga Falls on March 7th. The theme was classic rock, so everyone came as their favorite classic rockers. I was Janis Joplin. Charlie was Hawaii Elvis. We had George Michael, Ike and Tina, a bunch of groupies, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Pat Benetar, Elton John, one of the Dire Straights members, Paul Anka (please excuse the spelling of some of these names). We danced to rock music. Ate Dave's delicious wings and my meatballs that mom made. And desserted with chocolate ganoche cake with beautiful mini dafodils. We had a wonderful time until midnight, and like rockstars, threw an afterparty at the Windsor, our favorite little hole in the wall.

Snow Dogs

Well we had a Snow Day, finally.

We went all over town searching for sleds. Finally BJ's had a couple.

We went to Goodyear Metro's big Hill.

It was probably the funnest time that I have ever had with the kids. I said we'd probably only stay an hour, but we were there for over two hours before I noticed I had no feeling in my toes.

The kids did NOT want to leave. And can you blame them??? Sledding is like the funnest, craziest thing on earth. If there wasn't sledding I don't think I could bear to live in this snow-forsaken state.

We came home, got in jammies, had some hot chocolate and watched Meet the Robinson's again, which seemed funnier this time, or maybe I was delirious from all the pain in my back. Did I mention I went sledding too and had to walk the hill about 55 times?

Later that night Brandon and Bobby borrowed the sled to go at 10pm. I was tempted to go again without the kids but thought my clients really needed me to come to work the next day.

Oh, and that is a boy in the pink hat, Jackson to be exact. He insisted. He's just like his uncle Todd, if you know what I mean.

The Specs

Here's a picture of my glasses, as requested, Shannon. They are Coach frames because I am very pretentious and obsessed with material things. But mostly, cause I was Madison's basketball coach.

This is on Leap Day celebrating Bubba's Birthday at Stonehedge. It was fun. We just bowled.

What was funny is that Bobby and Brandon both said I looked like Lisa Loeb in the glasses that night. I however think they had beer goggles on. And in the picture with Charlie and Brandon, it appears that Brandon, the one with glasses, is Lisa Loeb-ish.

George Strait

Charlie and I went to see George Strait, Little Big Town, and Sarah Johns at the Q on the 1st. It was GREAT. We had 8th row seats, so we saw everyone very clearly. The stage was like 15 feet from us.

Charlie's not a country fan, but he went cause he knows I am of George Strait.
I remember Dad singing All My Exes Live in Texas when I was little and cracking up about that. I really did think that he had a lot of exes down there for quite some time.

And then of course, I heard George at mom and Dave's growing up as well. He has a wonderful voice and I really like how he sings otherwise sad songs always with a smirk and smile. Great concert. And just nice to do something with the old ball and chain. LOL!

Hannah Montana in Ohio

So, Madison turned the big 1-0 on the 9th of December. We wanted to get her something special to acknowledge how much we appreciate her being well behaved, wonderful in school, and such a help around the house and with the boys. She got straight A's for the first time at Redeemer and that is a wonderful accomplishment.

I searched high and low and found a pair of great seats for an okay price on ebay and snatched them up in October. The concert sold out in 8 minutes, so they were rather expensive anywhere I looked.

Why Hannah tickets? Well we watch her on Nick whenever it's on and I like the message of the show. It's usually on at night after the boys are in bed and Charlie's at work, so it's a Mommy and Me thing. Plus, Hannah's brother's name on the show is Jackson and we get a kick out of that.

Ma bought her a Hannah shirt for her birthday so she'd have the proper attire for the show. The show was the 3rd of January. Madison and I got ready for the show together. I curled her hair and even put a little makeup on her. The boys were SOOOO jealous, mostly of the makeup...Baby's still afraid of the curling iron after the...uhhhh...incident.

We drove up to Cleveland. Took some pictures outside of Hannah's Party Bus in the FREEEEEEZING cold. We might have even gotten on the news. Tons of cameramen were scrolling the crowd and we, in turn, were going NUTS to get their attention.

Inside we got a neon pen that goes around your neck, a Miley Cyrus shirt, and a Jonas Brothers shirt. Did I mention, the Jonas Brothers were the opening act.

Never have I seen more hyped up little girls in all my life. I didn't hear normally for hours after leaving the show.

The show, by the way, was Awesome. Both the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana.

On the way home, I wanted to take Madison to Fat Fish Blue a jazzy blues restaurant in Cleveland, for some deep fried pickles with cajun mayo dipping sauce. They are to die for and Madison LOVES pickles. She even has this ANNOYING saying lately, "I love pickle juice." And she asks everyone if they love pickle juice. Like I said, ANNOYING. Anyway, we get inside the restaurant after parking and they're closing. We had to leave, but we see on the menu posted on the outside of the building our beloved pickles. I was MAD.

The next night was her Cavs game, though, for getting Straight A's. I forgot to update the post on that contest. She sent in her report card and her name was chosen for two free tickets to a game, a Cavs book cover, and a tee-shirt. Is she lucky or what??? Anyways, I thought Charlie could take her for her pickles after the game. He did. And guess what! They were sold out of the deep fried pickles. I kid you not.

After telling this story to friends, we found out that a neighborhood bar and grill has deep fried pickles that are delish and it's less than two minutes from our house. We haven't gone yet, but plan to in the near future. We'll keep you posted on how they compare to Fat Fish Blue. In the end, Ma called FFB and told them the story and they're sending up some complimentary certificates to come back up and try to get some pickles.

All in all, I hope Madison remembers this first concert as a great one, I know I will treasure the experience. The boys, especially Jackson, are still jealous, but I promised them Naked Brothers Band if they come to town. Jackson said, "How are you gonna do that? Take just me one night and Baby the next since just you and Madison went for Hannah Montana? Adorable, but Foolish.

Follow the Leader

Got this from Shannon's blog, seemed interesting, so I did it too...

You are Mahogany

Stable and decisive, you lack the hyper energy of most orange colors.You're still energetic, but you tend to project a peaceful, relaxed vibe.You love to feel cozy. You often rather wrap up in a blanket than go out for the night.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolororangeareyouquiz/">What Color Orange Are You?

There Shall Be Showers of Blessings

My little sister's baby shower was Saturday at the Erie Station Grill. We dined in the train car out back of the restaurant. It was very elegant and unique.

Before the shower, Baby asked what a shower was. I began to tell him when Big Charlie interrupted and told him, "Basically because girls stank, they all need to go shower." Madison and I tried to argue but he just kept saying that's why only girls go to showers.

Anywho

The shower had a star theme because Jessica likes stars. Shannon made the invitations, which had tiny feet pearlized as a border. A poem read:

Precious boy, so small, so sweet

Dancing in on Angel feet

Sent from Heaven's brightest Star

How beautiful you are

I loved the invitations. However, all the info had to be changed because I let other people get involved in the planning process. I know, I know...so unlike me. The new place was a million times better anyway. So glad we had to change it.

The favors were small tins of cut out stars that when poured in the bath turn into bubble bath. It had blue ribbon and a blue pacifier since she is having a boy. Another favor was a glass star-shaped tealight and holder in a blue organza bag with a tag stating a Star is Born.

We also wrapped silver and baby blue Hershey's Kisses in blue netting and tied with baby blue ribbon and personalized tags that had either a star or a baby boy looking up at a star saying either Welcome Baby Josiah or A Bright Future For Jessica's Baby. The blue Hershey's kisses said It's a Boy on the plume. We also tied a metal star to dangle from the ribbon.

The table cloths were white. The linens were baby blue.

The meal was a choice of

turkey

ham

chicken salad

on a croissant

with a cup of the most delicious vegetable beef soup I have ever had.

Mom made star shaped shower cakes for everyone with baby blue whipped cream icing. They were delicious as usual.

We had a photo mat that everyone could sign upon entering with well wishes for Jessica and the Baby.

We played a candy bar game, whose b-day is closest to the due date, My water broke, and lottery scratch offs. The ice cube game was hilarious. You had people licking the cube, biting the cube, sticking the cube in soup, and stabbing the cube with their knives. Mind you, while a precious little baby is inside the cube waiting to be born.

Jessica got a wonderful start with all the gifts she received. She seemed very happy.

Why did I go through this ridiculous detail? For my retarded sister that couldn't be there. We all missed you very much, Shannon. And it wasn't the same without your neurotic self. No wonder plans had to be changed. We didn't have our little planner there. You need to come home soon. This is getting irritating. ENJOY THE PICS AND LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT BLOGGING FOR A COUPLE WEEKS NOW!