Oh yeah...another milestone, another little giveaway!

My previous post, "Signs of spring in Michigan" was my 1000th post. I would have never guessed that I would have posted that much. I had no vision that the blog would have continued as long as it has. Who would have thought that people would want to read about our little family!

Sooo...I've decided to hold another small giveaway in honor of that. I'd like to ask my readers to give me their favorite "Ladybugs and The Red Thread" moment. Whether it's a picture, something I've written, something you've learned or just plain laughed at...I want to hear it. Please make your comments under the "Signs of spring in Michigan" post. I will be running this through Friday, April 4th. Then Wayne, the kids and I will be making our final selection and I will post the winner (or maybe winners!) on Saturday. :-)

Good Luck!

Signs of spring in Michigan....

I guess the fact that it's raining and not snowing is Mother Nature's way of telling us it's springtime in Michigan.

AYSO lasso'ed me in to coach 2 soccer teams. Well, I'm the head coach for Anna's U-8 team and assistant coach for Cam's U-10 with Mike again. In fact, there are 2 teams that still need coaches. I feel bad for those kids. I made calls to all my parents last night letting them know when the first practice would me. Another sign that it's time to get outta the house... We practiced a little last night before my hands got too cold. The kids are excited that I'm getting involved...I'm not so sure if I'm ready!

Spring Break started today...the kids think we need to do something fun and exciting each day. I told them that today was CLEAN THE LIVING/TV ROOMS DAY. Tomorrow would be CLEAN THE BATHROOMS DAY. Needless to say they were not impressed. However, by noon we had both our scheduled rooms done and they are now back to being couch potatoes. There are dishes that need to be done, but I'm sure I can roped the girls into helping. They dig getting to use the sprayer and all the soap. :-)

I do have some snow crocus that have bloomed. Well, they bloomed, got covered by snow and sort of wilted. Now they are back and seem to be doing ok. Unless Riley or Oliver decides to plod through them. I was reading that the cherry blossoms are out in D.C. I'd love to see them. I've been to D.C. twice, but never during the spring. Maybe we can take the kids or maybe I can wait til I'm old and don't have anything better to do than to sit on a bench and take it all in.

Another sign of spring? Muddy footprints all over. Mine, the kids, Wayne's, the dog's....I hate it.

POTHOLES and ROAD CONSTRUCTION...blah.

As trees, plants and grass come to life, so do Cam and Anna's allergies.

Weddings, bridal showers, graduations....so far we have 4 bridal showers, 4 weddings, and no graduations that I can think of. EESH!

Time to make the natives lunch...they're getting restless.

Thanks Dan for reminding me

While hanging out with Wayne's cousin Dan tonight, he reminded me of something we said to each other as kids:

"You thought you were HOT SNOT, but you're really a COLD BOOGER on a paper plate!"

Ok, ok...not the greatest visual, but we laughed and laughed. :-)

Crossing Jordan and Kate Bush

One of my guilty pleasures is watching Crossing Jordan on A&E. I'm an addict for forenics shows. What can I say? I think I was suppose to be a medical examiner. :-) Anyways...on a recent episode...they played this Kate Bush song and I can't get it out of my head. I downloaded it to my iTunes, the minute I heard it. I just love it. The name of the song is "This woman's work". The clip is from 1989. Enjoy!

Favorite Authors Link ------>

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to send a shout out to 2 of my favorite authors of late. The first is Amanda Lamb. She's an amazing new author, mom, and reporter for WRAL in Raleigh, NC. I found her book when I was in Raleigh last September and just laughed til I cried. She has some great stories and writes from the perspective of a working mom. I had to email her as soon as I finished to let her know how much I appreciated her open and honest experience of motherhood. She's a neat person and I'm glad to have picked up her book! I can't wait to read more. I posted her link on the left under my favorite authors section.

My other newest fave is Jodi Picoult. (I've also listed her link over to the right!) Jodi is another amazing writer who has the ability to capture so many points of view of the same story. I'm now on my 3rd book of hers and just bought 2 more! That's how much I liker her books! The cover of the book below is what I'm reading now...Perfect Match. I've been soooo hooked, that I've had to give myself time-outs so my eyes don't bug outta my head!

"No mom, your OTHER boyfriend..."

Julia: Mom, where's your boyfriend at?
(I'm sitting on the couch next to Wayne...)
Me: My other boyfriend? (With the most quizzing look on my face)
Julia: Yeah, your boyfriend
Me: Julia, he's right here (pointing to Wayne)
Julia: Noooo, not Daddy...YOUR OTHER BOYFRIEND!!
(I'm now worried at what she's getting at!)
Me: Julia, I don't have a boyfriend
Julia: Yeah, you do...that guy in the picture! (She's referring to my Prom picture!)
Me: Oh!!! That was Jim, he's not my boyfriend anymore. He's married to another lady and they have kids together.
Julia: Oh.
(This is where she walked away and Wayne lifted his eyebrows at me!) LOL!

I maybe be FRESH, but not cool!

After taking that quiz, Anna pointed out that I'm wearing my Teva's (sandals) with socks. I'm so not cool.

The Mom Quiz

Ok...so I took a test at Tickle.com and this was my results. Normally I don't do the quiz thing here on this blog, but since this is my family blog and it's about what kind of mom I am...I figured it was relative. :-) And my results? Oh so true!! Here's the link to the quiz:
http://web.tickle.com/rd/53516/tests/freshmom/

What Makes You a Fresh Mom?


Melissa, you're fresh because you're a Champion Cheerleader

Whether you're driving your kids to soccer practice, music lessons, or just over to the park to play with a bunch of friends, you're a high-energy mom who's always on the go, go, go. You probably like being active — and so do your kids. Though sometimes you might feel like a shuttle service, it's worth it when you're standing on the sidelines cheering for your little ones (no matter how big they are).You know that there's more to life than school and playtime. And that some of the best learning comes from places other than classrooms and libraries. So whether they're winning or losing, having a performance of a lifetime, or experiencing a temporary loss, you're sure to be there with your contagious enthusiasm. And who wouldn't want a cheerleader like you around?

Ok ok...just a few...

"M" for Mom? NO! "M" for Melissa? NO! "M" for Michigan? YES! (Boooo....who got into the Big Dance again this year? Hmmm....oh wait! Who didn't even get invited to the N.I.T. tourney? Sorry Tyler!! (N.I.T. standing for NOBODY'S INTERESTED TOURNAMENT!)

The eggs we colored Friday night...

This morning before church...a HUGE thanks to Tonni for the matching bow and headband!!
The classic 3 sister picture...Theresa, Me, and Samantha (with her head tilt...)

Julia and my sunglasses. She's sitting on 20 packages of laminate flooring that will be going into our upstairs...YAY!

Yeah, she's cool...yeah, she knows it!

Day #2: 2 more miles...done

Yeah, so 2 miles doesn't sound like a lot...it's more than I wanted to walk on a night like tonight. It's cold, blustery but alas SUNNY. The sun alone makes me want to walk. OH! Sorry there are not any Easter pics yet. I'm not in the mood to download them and all that jazz...gonna have to wait til tomorrow. ;-)

I wanted to show you my inspiration for walking today....it's a bathing suit. The one I have is just like this, but in shades of pink. I can wear it, but...it's not that prettiest sight. Losing another 20-25lbs will look much better!! LOL!

Back on track

Since my flabby butt hasn't done any major exercise since last fall, I decided today was the day to get back on the ball. I went for a 3 mile walk tonight with Oliver. He's not the greatest walking buddy. He loves to cut in front of me, step on my feet and take off running with the leash. Hmmm...sounds like taking a toddler with me. :-) Anyways, it felt great to get back outside. Yeah, I froze. It was only 32 degrees. But...it was SUNNY!! I had to wear long underwear underneath my running pants. (Why are they called long underwear anyways, do you know?)

(These are not mine, by the way....)

a picture says a MILLION words

This is a picture I don't think I posted when we were in China. After being interviewed for an article for our local paper about "Going Global" (people who have made a difference in a global way, and ours is about Julia's adoption), I thought of this photo. I don't even remember Brion taking the picture of Wayne and I. We had just been handed Julia's photo album that contained her earliest pictures and many nice little poems. I recall being so emotional and very upset that my newest daughter only has 8 or so "baby pictures" of her life before us. Wayne looks just like a hopeful new dad, so proud of what's going on. I'm so grateful to Brion for snapping this photo off when he did. I think it captures the true emotions of adoption and how different moms and dads can be.

You could ask me anything about that day and I can remember it exactly. Meeting Julia for the first time at the civil affairs building was like being in the delivery room for Cam and Anna. But with more people and another family in our same room. It was nice only having one other family to share that experience with. Liz and Brion have really become life-long friends that I can't imagine being without. Brion was the adventerous one, trying new foods, walking and checking out everything. Liz and I joke that we can't think of what it would be like to adopt again without the other couple there. Guess we're going to have to adopt again at the same time!! LOL!

This is the day I get for bragging about yesterday being a great day...

1. Didn't get to sleep til nearly 1:00am (my own fault, was reading a new book and couldn't stop!)
2. Had some very horrible dreams and images that made it impossible to get back to sleep
3. Oliver whined and howled from 2:30-4:30am
4. Overslept til 7:05 meaning I would have to take the kids into school
5. Found the reason Oliver was whining...he pooped in his crate (but had earlier refused to go outside when I let him out at 2:30 & 3:30am...go figure!)
6. Needed to give the puppy a bath after returning from dropping the kids off at school

ALL THIS BEFORE 9:00AM....CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE REST OF THE DAY HOLDS!

Sleeping alone

I somewhat look forward to sleeping alone when Wayne is gone. This time it's not meant to be. I have the most beautiful angel dreaming away by my side. Anna has taken Wayne's place next to me...minus the snoring. Although, I was listening to her breathe...she sounds a lot like Wayne. Is that possible? Is breathing something we get from our parents? I don't know.

Where the boys are...

There's a huge Cal-Chlor pow-wow happening in New Jersey this week. Wayne is working out there for the week. Not exactly a vacation, but...he's headed into NYC for dinner one night. Lucky bastard. I know...I was just in New Orleans, but I would take NYC for dinner anytime! Anyways...here's a map of where he's at in NJ. Look for the red dot, that's where the boys are. ;-)

Old Askins family pictures

This is where it all started for our family. Here are my grandparents (my mom's parents) on their wedding day, June 1955.

Here's a picture of my mom and my grandparents at some sort of parade that I marched in. I was a Brownie. :-)

Uncle Wendell, the cool one...with cousins Andy and Carla.

This is my Uncle Mark and my Aunt Pam (she's my mom's sister) and Cameron.

This is one of my favorite Aunt Cheryl pictures (she's on the left and my mom's other sister, who is married to Uncle Wendell)...this was taken in...I'm not sure...1970-something. :-)

Here's my mom and my Uncle Jeff at Pentwater State Park. Not sure of the year on this one either.

This is my great-grandma McKenzie, she was Anna's namesake. (She was my grandma Darlene's mom)

Here's the whole family (minus spouses, kids and grandkids!) First, my Uncle Jeff, my mom, Grams, Pops, my Aunt Pam and my Aunt Cheryl. Was taken at my Poppa's retirement party.

This is me and my grandma in the pool at my Aunt Cheryl's old apartment in Daytona. I was in the 5th grade...so that would have been 1984. Wayne was in his first year of college at this time! LOL!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandparents together. They are riding in my Uncle Wendell's old Rambler. Gotta love the Hawaiian shirt and Budweiser vison on Poppa.

This is my dad and my sister at the Oceana county fair. Samantha looks to be about 3 or 4, so that makes Theresa either 4 or 5.

This is my Uncle Jeff. He pasted away 12 years ago. This is my absolute favorite picture of him. Yeah, I know...this is going to make my Aunt Cheryl cry, but...there isn't a day that I don't wish that he were here. He used to give me a hard time and call me names when I was a kid. I can't hear an REO Speedwagon, Bruce Springsteen or Cheap Trick song without thinking about riding in his super cool green Regal he had. I love and miss you, Uncle Peff (that's not a typo either).

Anna when she was about 8-9 months old. A rare moment when she would keep her hearing aids in at that age. LOL!

Uncle Wendell took this picture of Cameron when he was about a year old. I just love it!

Here's Grammy Darlene with her babies. I used to be the one she cuddled on her lap! Cam is about 3-4 and Anna is probably just over a year old.

We have a WINNER in the guess what's grillin' contest!

Leave it to my OWN SISTER to guess. Yes, Samantha got it right. Our steaks when turned just right, look like the state of Michigan! However, Samantha isn't into my dangling foo-foo earrings and being that she's my sister...I'm going to do a "Guess what's grillin' contest". She won't be allowed to guess either. LOL!

Any guesses?

First person to correctly identify what you're looking at wins a special something from my spring collection of earrings or a bracelet. If you happened to be a guy answering...tough! HINT: It's steak, so don't burn up your one answer with that. ;-)

For Dawn...The Real Julia

I took this picture of Julia after church Sunday. After our chat last night, I wanted to post a non-fakey/posed picture of Julia. Somewhere there's a woman in China giving her spouse this same look. LOL!!!

It's spring in Ludington...Dairy Queen as OPENED!

Hell on earth has arrived again in the form of ice cream. For my friends down south...our DQ closes from October to mid-March. I think the giant snowbanks have something to do with keeping the crowds down. Anyways....it's now open and well, my love affair begins again. Me and Mr. Misty have a cherry-ice romance that's been going on since 1991. I love him, he doesn't make me fat, although he does stain my tongue red. Oh yeah...they're called "Artic Rush" now. Bah.

What I made for the LWB art auction

These 2 pairs of earrings are going to be auctioned as one set. I love the way the red tensha bead ones turned out. :-)

Here's another set. More tensha beads and lantern look-a-likes.

Here's the Chinese jacket pendant. I love these beads!!
This is the blue version. Pretty cool!!

Barbie sacrafice

So this is what I found on kitchen floor after taking Oliver for a walk. All the women have clothes, Ken does not. Interesting.

Missing

Julia: Daddy! (As if she's just figured out the secret to life!) Your HAIR is missing!!!!
Wayne: Where did it go?
Me: (laughing and snickering under my breath...)
Julia: I don't know! It not growed anymore.


Poor Wayne....

Why I love John Cusak

Came across "Better Off Dead" on ABC Family Channel. I love love love John Cusak movies. "One Crazy Summer" is my favorite. Anyways...made me think of a few lines from one of his most recent movies, called "Martian Child". He says:

"I don't want to bring another kid into this world. But how do you argue against loving one that's already here?"

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. As long as you discover, where you belong.”

Wish I had a doodle

Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!

COOOOOLD

Woke up this morning to no water. Pump had froze. Finally around 2 we got water back, and thawed out. :-) Thanks, MVD for helping out!

Butterflies are back at Meijer Gardens!

I love going to see the butterflies at Meijer Gardens. I hope I can get the kids down there. :-)

It's a ladybug kinda day here....

Ok...so my blog title is Ladybugs and The Red Thread....Just wanted to post some great little pictures of laybugs. Dawn, what's to be said for the first picture...the one that says "Believe"? Hmmm...