Still Sunday...

statuues at the marina

More playground pics from last night

Out and about at the marina playground

NO! Really? I had no idea!

Having a husband creates an extra seven hours of housework each week for women, according to a new study. For men, tying the knot saves an hour of weekly chores.

"It's a well-known pattern," said lead researcher Frank Stafford, an economist at University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. "Men tend to work more outside the home, while women take on more of the household labor."

He points out individual differences among households exist. But in general, marriage means more housework for women and less for men. "And the situation gets worse for women when they have children," Stafford said.

I can't be...

Julia to her dad: "Daddy, I can't be your helper today. I'm too busy being a mermaid."

Photo Overload

Julia and Oliver
Oliver wanting to go outside

OLD lampwork beads that I'd love to make something with...Shame that the museum won't let me have them!

Hana and Cam (Cam wanted a friend to go with him to the musuem, he choose Hana. She's a super sweet girl and we had a great time.)

The earth (looking towards China, of course!)

Asian dolls at the musuem

Stained glass window

Me in front of the ice cream/snack truck...how fitting! HAhaha!

Anna, Julia (who was crying), Cam and Hana on the trolly car

The giant map of Michigan...Aunt Pam and Anna checking out the Grand River

The kids outside with the space pod as they called it...

Our piggies...just for Dawn. Mine are looking like they need major work, but Ju's are cute as ever!

Juju

These are 2 little cards that I got from a neat seller on Etsy.com. I decided to frame them, but they didn't fit the frame I got, so I added the pink striped background and it worked out really well. It will make a great piece for Julia and Anna's room once we're done remodeling it. ;-)

Another great little crocus outside the house today.

My favorite...purple crocus.

Julia and Riley peeking over the door...wanting to get out.

She had a great time with me outside without shoes...it was only 54 degrees...but man, it felt great!

A small look into my housekeeping skills

Yeah, so I suck at keeping a clean house. I fail miserably. For having a mother and grandmother who are cleaners, I surely missed out on that gene. I truly believe that some folks are just neat-niks. Wayne used to be, but I've brought him to the dark side along with the kids. I remember one time going to a friend's house and just being amazing at how FILTHY her house was. Not just messy toys, not just a sink full of the day's dishes, but down right feet-sticking-to-the-floor, kids-with-3-day-old-Kool Aid-moustaches, makes-you-wonder-if-something-died kinda mess. Ok, so I've never gotten there...but I have a better understanding of how you get here. LOL!

Like the 2 bowls that I used to make pancake batter in...NOTE TO SELF: Wash and or rinse those IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise, you have an ooey/gooey substance that could pass for plaster. Also, the bowls used to eat GRANOLA cereal needs to be RINSED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Talk about something that I could use to break a window with. Is it any wonder that I hate doing dishes?

Our next craft show

The girls and I decided that we would like to donate a part of our earnings from our next craft show (which is April 12th at St. Simon's in Ludington) to Love With Boundaries. Since we can't get Wayne on board to adopt again (not that I would have time to coach ANOTHER kid's soccer team!), we thought it would be a great way for us to help those children in China waiting to get adopted or to support those kiddos who may never have that option. I'm glad that LWB doesn't care what the size of the donation is...I'm sure we can't do much, but I want to raise Cam, Anna and Julia with a sense of social awareness.

Julia already talks about "her China" and that she stakes a claim in what happens there. She always wants to talk about China and that "not so nice man" (Chairman Mao). Like I don't know much about him, but she's seen his picture on things around our house. OH JEEZ! Don't think we have giant pictures of Mao around, we don't! I just have an English version of his little red book and there are tons of photos of him in the books that we have. LOL! Ok, so maybe our version of Mao isn't so red, it's more like a light shade of pink. Some day will come soon enough when she wants to know more about Mao, and the China that maybe she wouldn't be so proud of. But for now, as the Olympics approach, we will celebrate the athletes, the country and a place that is close to our family's heart.

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!