Bears and Snow

Here is Anna and her collection of Snowflake bears. I started out with just getting one a year for her and it's grown into this! She now has 1997-2006.

Here is Julia and her little collection. :-) She's only got 2005 and 2005 (along with a smaller set from 2003).

Last year, Cam decided that he wanted bears too! Sooo...I took to Ebay and he's now got 1997-2001 along with 2006.

For my friend Tim in NC, here are some pictures of the snow that is happening RIGHT NOW! This is looking NE from the front yard.

This is looking across Morton Rd to the NW. That is St. Paul's church.

Here is our driveway and part of the camper. BLEH!

New Pictures

This is Riley wearing the wig that I had got for Anna for Halloween. It was too funny to see here just sit with this wig on.

Here are the infamous 3 sisters again. I had to take a picture of us because we were all wearing sweaters. Samantha never wears sweaters, so this was a major event!

This is me and my cousin Tom. We grew up together doing tons of stuff and we still have a great time hanging out. Sorry ladies...he's married! ;-)

Here is Riley again...I was trying to get her picture and she kept looking away.

Here is where I keep Wayne when he is bad. Muhahahaa!! I joked with the kids about putting them down there and you should have seen the shear fear in their eyes. Yeah, I'm a meanie mom!

Another goofy Mom and Julia picture.

Julia took this of me while we were putting out Christmas lights. I've taken Dan-o-crat's role of Polaris poster child over. It was soooooo cold that night!

Julia outside in the chilly air. She loved it!

Here's Anna in her new snowmobile coat. She has taken to wearing it all the time. She's thrilled that it has an iPod pocket. Sure hope that Santa gets her letter about wanting a new iPod. ;-)

Here are the kids outside with part of the reindeer display. There's a little sleigh that goes with these flying guys, but each kiddo wanted to stand by their reindeer.

Stroll down memory lane

Yeah...I know. Julia isn't in this picture. But, I found it while going through old pictures tonight. It's one of my favorites for many reasons. Cam reminds me so much of Grandpa George, that it's spooky. I remember Anna loving to ride on this little glider with her big brother. If I recall, this was taken in the fall of 2001. It was breezy fall afternoon and me and the kids were having a great time outside playing together. (I look pretty skinny too!) :-)

Singing in the car...Mom and Madonna

While riding in the car today, the girls and I were listening to my iPod. There's a song that we all like called "Sorry" and it's by Madonna. Yeah, I know...but remember, I'm the classic Material Girl from the 80's. I have passed down some of my guilty pleasures to my kids. Haha! Madonna just happens to be one of them. ANYWAYS...the song comes on and Anna and Julia start singing. We just had a great time jammin. I love seeing the girls enjoying themselves and having a good time together instead of fighting. :-)

So that got me thinking...my god. Madonna is now into her 2nd (maybe even some 3rd) generation of listeners and fans. Somehow, I think I knew that she'd have that kind of staying power. Sex sells. She's an amazing performer and by the recent concert I watched, I think she'll keep reinventing herself for years to come. I also had shared with the girls that Madonna had adopted a child. Julia was like, "Is she a good mommy?" LOL! I think you can be a rock star and still be a good mom, but....who knows? Whose to judge? Anna wanted to know if I listening to Madonna when I was a kid and I said yes. Where were my parents when I was listening to "Like a Virgin" back when I was 10? HAHAHHAHA! I don't think she was a bad influence. I turned out to be a Polly Purebred Soccer Mom. ;-)

Um, here are a few pictures that I found of the Madonna that I remember....80's hair and all, and the Madonna that my girls know. Anna has no idea it was even the same person!

Thanksgiving at school with Anna

I went in yesterday to have Thanksgiving lunch with Anna and here are a few pictures. She loves this little guy Justin. He's a sweetie. Anyways, Anna said we had to post the picture that Justion took, so that's why there's two just alike.

The craft fair

Just wanted to let you loyal followers know that I sold 13 bracelets (gave away 4, 3 to friends of Cameron's and one to my friend Barb!) and made $74.00. And I got an order for one like I was wearing, but didn't have the beads! Wohooo! It's not like I'm going to get rich, but I had a great time and made a little cash. Anna and Samantha had a good time too! :-) I'm so not a good business woman. Every time a friend of Cam's (girls in his grade or class) came by, I had to quick whip a bracelet out for them. Most of them are super sweet and good kids, so I don't mind. Plus, I made points with their moms. LOL! I'd just as soon gave out bracelets to people as they walked by, but I'm not that rich. What a bummer! I joked about donating my earnings and Wayne just rolled his eyes. He asked that I wait til after the holidays. Hahaha! I can guarantee that I will never be wealthy. Giving is too much fun and so rewarding.

'Tis the season

It was snowing last night. Bleh. Having lived in Michigan for my entire life, I know that it snows and that it gets cold. That's not my complaint. It's the wet, muddy footprints from the dog that drive me nuts. Riley is 13 years old and still hasn't figured out how to wipe her paws! :-) I may have to turn into one of those preppy pet owners with the little wet wipes for their dogs feet. Although...if I can't get 3 kids to wipe their feet, how can I expect the dog to do it?

Might be just a number but....

So I know people come read my blogs for many reasons...and this might not be the reason you come to read, but I'm feeling like shouting from the rooftops....While out shopping today, I purchased a new pair of jeans. Nothing spectacular about that, right? Well.....It's the size of the jeans that matters most for me. Let me go back to April when I started this whole weight loss/get in shape thing. I was starting to look at summer clothes and the size I was at. 20/22. Yeah, I was wearing either a 20 or 22. The jeans I got today were a size 12. Unbelievable. I was almost in tears in the dressing room. I was that thrilled. I haven't been this size since after Cam was born back in '97. Yes, I know. The size of our clothes don't define the person inside them. But as woman who has struggled with my weight for 10+ years, the number means everything. It means that my hard work and consistency is paying off. It means that I'm that much closer to my goal of being in shape. There's an event in Indiana sponsored by the Indiana AG Bell group called the Talk Walk Run (http://www.hearindiana.org/subpage.asp?p=28) and I want to run in it next year. I may not be in running shape by then though! :-) But I want to try.

With much urging...

I have decided to take my bracelets to a craft fair to sell on Saturday. I just decided that I really didn't need to have 80-something bracelets for my own personal wear. And I did just make 16 more Sunday morning while watching my favorite movie of all time...Jaws! Plus, my addiction to buying supplies has caused my checkbook a little grief too. :-) The craft fair is put on by the PTC and the money for the booth ($30) is to support the elementary library. So, the way I look at it, even if I don't sell a bracelet, I had fun and donated to the library fund. Now, the tough job of tagging all the bracelets and figuring out how much to ask for them. Wish me luck! (How awesome would it be to get paid for doing something I really like? Well, besides attending conferences and speaking out on hearing loss and adoption??? LOL!!)

The Halloween Day that wouldn't end!

Julia, Reagan and Gabby

Here is Gabby and her dad Eric (who was my favorite character PATRICK STAR!!)

Julia and her candy corn man!

Julia's picture of me (I hate this angle, make my face look HUGE!)

This is the pic that Ethan took of Julia

This is Damien and Cameron before their parties started!

This is Destinee, she's been in Cam's class before. She's the sweetest girl and I love talking with her.

Here are a few kids in Cam's class. I love Spencer's costume (He's the girl!)

This is Mr. Hansen and Cam. He's Cam's science and math teacher (and a Michigan State fan!!)

This is Mr. Porter. He's a 3rd grade teacher and I just loved the wig. He's a super cool guy too!!

This is Cam and his teacher from last year, Mrs. Dahringer. Her and I share a love for reading and Harry Potter books. I can't wait for Anna to get into her room next year!!

Here's the gang!

Julia and her boyfriend (aka Poppa Bill!)

Grammy Darlene and "her girls"!!

Well, I hope that all my readers (aka friends and family!) had a SPOOKTACULAR Halloween yesterday. It was like that movie Groundhog's Day for me. I started the day with Julia's party, which went into Cam's party. Thank God my sister, Theresa took yesterday off to help me. She attended Anna's party in my place. Once school was over we had a small break and then it was off for trick-o-treating. The kids had a semi-good time. Anna had a meltdown over her fake fingernails, Cam got crabby about leaving Aunt Von's house and Julia just wanted to eat all of her candy. :-) So now it's on to the next holiday!!!!!!!!

This is what keeps me sane

So this is what I've been up to since late April. I started making little stretchy bracelets for Anna and Julia and it morphed into this! After crunching some numbers, I think I've made a grand total of 96 bracelets. I've given quite a few away because I'd rather give them as gifts to friends and family instead of selling them. So I'm sure you're wondering why I'm posting them here. Well, I've had TONS of people want to know how I lost weight. This is how! When I had the craving to eat or felt overwhelmed, I would sit and make a few bracelets. Sometimes it only took making one or two, but other nights it took making five or six. I've really enjoyed making them and searching for new and exciting beads. Any excuse to shop is always a treat!! :-)


This is what I call the blue man group. Here are the bracelets that are mostly blues.

I'm not a huge fan of brown, but here are a few that I've put together.

Black isn't a popular color either.

Here are some of the really cool colored ones. Dice, stripes, and rainbows have been my favorites lately. I just made the two on the right side tonight. I love the gumdrop beds.

Red, red and more red. I love red! Anyone that knows me knows that my favorite color is red. I really love all of these!!

It's the Pink Ladies! The big bracelet right in the center with the purpley-pink beads is my new favorite. The beads I got from http://www.ornamentea.com/ They are a super cool store in Raleigh, NC. I should have ordered more, but I wanted to see how well I liked them first. :-)

A glimpse into the future?

I recently found this picture that Anna had drawn last year in first grade. On the back was a picture of the boy that she liked, so I'm thinking that she had help drawing this one. Here's what I noticed that makes me worried about her! LOL!

1. The Nose Ring (I don't know anyone with one...not sure where she got that idea!)

2. The Belly Button Ring (Again, I don't know anyone with one, but I'm sure she's seen them!)

3. The Rainbow Striped Hair (Eh, I can live with weird hair colors!)

4. The Gold Tooth (What the hell? She's gone GANGSTA on me?!)

5. The Bustier Top (Ok, so that could me something she got from me and my Madonna-loving days)

6. The Super Long Dangle Earrings (Yeah, that's totally Anna already!)

Blowing Horns and Wagn'Coop goes 6-0!!

So, my wonderful sister, Theresa decided to take the kids to the first Muskegon Fury hockey game tonight. Well, Anna couldn't find her giant PURPLE horn. Ugh! Like I know where the damned thing is! Each person has at least 500 things in this house and I need to remember where they are all at, at any given moment!! Well, my Mom Super Powers apparently are running low as I couldn't find the horn (or Cam's shoes for that matter!). So I gave my sis $20 for the kids to spend at the game. I tell Anna, "Don't blow all this on food either!" Anna looks straight at me and replies, "I'm going to blow it on a PURPLE HORN!!!" I thought Theresa and I were going to lose it. I never laughed so hard! Anna has got the best sense of timing.

Oh yeah...today was the last day for soccer. I'm sad to see it over. I was having a good time!! Anyways, we beat the Willick team today 5-0. YESSSSSSS! Mike and I decided to get the kids trophies for their hard work and going undefeated! Tomorrow we have the banquet for the fall soccer season. Then it's on to spring!! Cam had a great time playing and I was thrilled to see the teamwork that he inspires in the other kids. I wish he could be playing rugby! ;-) (Oh yeah, Springboks won the World Cup today in France, if anyone cares!!)