Tara-tory

Challenges

2009-09-09T09:59:00.003-04:00

Well both kids are in school now. This year is going to be a challenge for us all. Amber has several classes that we feel will challenge her. Zach has a ton of homework, which we are not used to. My challenge is to try and keep two different school calendar's straight and their sport events also.

I have been on the job hunt, which we all know in Michigan is the most challenging. Went on another interview last week and was hired. WOO HOO. The only down fall is that its a subbing position. But I am taking it just to get my foot in the door.

Debutante Ball

2009-08-11T13:04:00.017-04:00

Some background information on this event. In the Filipino culture when a girl turns 16 she is introduced to society as a lady. This happens at a ball with a special dance. Am turned 16 in July and so it was time for us to introduce her to society. Let me just say Neil's mom, who has only the two boys, was ecstatic and was I. But you all know my tomboy girl, she was gritting her teeth through the whole process.

We spent almost three months in dance classes, most of the time twice a week. She had to have a boy escort. Unfortunately, there were not enough boys in the age group of 16-18 and so Zach got asked to be an escort ( Neil and his brother were escorts when they were younger). The kicker was that he was escorting his sister. Well you can guess how that went most days.

The event was formal, the debutante's have to wear white full gowns (wedding gowns) and the escorts have to wear tuxedo's. Neil also was in a tuxedo and I had to wear a formal, to the floor length gown ( that was an adventure to find in my size).

It was an amazing night. We were so proud. She looked amazing!
Zach was so handsome!

The deb's and the escorts
Sorry for the dark picture but this is Neil and I introducing Am.

Photo's of the dance. It was part Waltz and other choreographed dance moves.

Our family photo-

Here is a picture of Neil as an escort when he was 16 with his god sister Tina.
and this is the picture of them at Am's ball-

Bad Blogger

2009-08-11T12:46:00.002-04:00

Yes that's Me! I have let my blog just sit here since October. So let me try and recap what's been happening since then.
End of October- We went north to my Great Aunt Jo's and Uncle Henry's wedding anniversary and vow renewal. We were also introduce to the sport of Geocaching.
November- I went to mega retreat. Spent the rest of our time at basketball practices.
December- it always comes and goes so fast. Started and completed a scrapbook project based on the 25 days of December. I took one picture of what we did that day and then combined them into a mini album showing what we did the days leading up to Christmas.
January- Spent NYE at the Baker's. We got to share their family traditions. I also started another major scrapbook project- project 365. This project is taking a picture of your life each day for an entire year. So far I have done a pretty good job with keeping up with this major project.
February- I had taken all I could handle at my job at Head Start and I quit! Relief is the word. Instead I started watching a 2 1/2 yr old girl. Wow its been a long time since I had to potty train a child. Basket ball ended and softball has begun.
March- Mega Meet work in full swing.
April- Very cold days and evenings watching softball games. We are thoroughly enjoying Geocaching.
May- The big event -Mega Meet conventions big 1 0. What a great weekend. I am so busy but try to get some shopping in. However after the weekend I realize that I had more items on my list to buy that I never got to. Ah well there's always next year!
June- End of school- Hooray! But our busy summer has started. We are going to Dance classes 2 time a week for the Debutante ball.
July- My baby girl turns 16. Seems like yesterday that she was born. More time spent at dance. Isn't this supposed to be summer break? It's for a great event so we will have summer next year! That brings you up to date.
I will also preparing with pictures of the debutante ball.

Homecoming

2008-10-18T19:46:00.008-04:00

She bought her ticket, found a dress she liked and got made into a teenage girl. All I can say is that she looked so beautiful tonight and so grown up.
To get her hair done I took her to the salon and the lady that has been doing my hair for like 20 some years. Karen did my hair for all my formals and my wedding and now she is doing Amber's. So hard to believe. And can I just say that Yes this is just Amber's hair no extra extensions and it cost me $40.

Amber and her friends at the park.

Amber from the back and a close up

In true Amber fashion....
Playing football with Zach and Jeff.

We sent her off to the dance with her camera so hopefully more great pictures of this event. Her group of friends are going bowling after and then a few are headed to a sleep over. We hope she has a great time.

Oh and on a side note she dropped my camera at the park lucky for her it just broke the eye piece. Neil said to save my pennies and buy a new camera. If I would have known I could buy the little camera I have been eyeing this easy I would have dropped the camera myself. I do want to keep my big nice camera but I also want a little one that will fit in my purse.

Powder Puff game

2008-10-13T10:20:00.000-04:00

Amber was so excited to play in this game. The teams this year were- Seniors and Sophomores vs the Juniors and Freshman. She was not thrilled about their uniform-a Pink shirt.

We were tied at half time 7 to 7 and then they saw Amber throw a ball 30 some yards. At that point they put her back in as Quarter back. This is how the game ended-

She threw two passes that allowed her team to score. They won! What an amazing time.

Dress Shopping

2008-10-04T10:33:00.001-04:00

Somehow her friends talked her into going to homecoming. On our way to the B-cubed we stopped at the outlet for dress shopping. However, I forgot my camera so these are taken with Neil's cell phone. These are the discards:
I liked this one and its hard to see but the material was pleated.
Lady in red. She was hoping for a red dress but not this one!

This dress was sparklie. Not her color.
This was a deep purple. She said she looked like an ice skater.
And the winner is.... Sorry you will have to wait until homecoming to see it.

Long Break

2008-10-01T09:58:00.001-04:00

Here I go again having to play catch up. The school year started which means I went back to work. I am so exhausted when I get home that I cant even think about updating. First things first- work. Its been extremely stressful. We are two teachers short and for some reason they can't figure out how to hire people. Then you have adults that act like children. The good thing is that my boss actually did her job,this time, and handled the situation.
On to the kids. Go back to August and we bought Zach a cell phone for his B-Day. Well 3 weeks ago after school he tells me that he lost it. Said he had it in the morning and then gone in the afternoon. So he got the wrath of his mother. We came home and searched our house and couldn't find it. Neil and I spent all that night calling it - its was off. Then I spent the whole next day callling, with no luck. Until right after school got out- then the phone was on. So in the 1/2 hour it took me to get home and to the Verizon store the phone had been making calls. In the process of getting the phone deactivated the phone had made 28 minutes of calls. We figure the phone is a lost cause until 3 days later when the bus driver tells Neil that she has Zach's phone. She was handed the phone that morning by a student. Come to find out a sibling pair- a 5th grade girl and her 3rd grade brother had stolen it. I called the school and the principal was looking into the incident. Come to find out the mother of said children knew they had the phone and told her 3rd grader to take it back. She also said" I don't understand why they had it cause they have their own phones". Anyway, no punishment given at school because(to quote the principal) " These are not bad kids and i think just having them in my office was enough". I am so MAD. They are old enough to know what they did was wrong. Then one week later the so called "good kids" got kicked off the bus because of fighting!
Amber has been busy with her classes. She has had alot of projects already. She is looking forward to playing in the Powder Puff game and going to homecoming.
More posts to come...

Falling apart

2008-09-16T18:05:00.003-04:00

I feel like I am falling apart at the young age of 30 (something)..wink wink
For those of you I talk to alot you will know that I have been complaining of foot pain all summer. With my love of doctors I have put it off until yesterday. On another note, I opened a door last week and felt pain in my left wrist. It ached and felt miserable all last week- even had pain in my pinkie finger. So with both issues I decided to go see my friendly doctor. He thinks my wrist is arthritis- sent me for an x-ray. On to my foot- he thinks that is planter fasciitis. Another x-ray ordered and a prescription for Motrin.
Why didn't someone tell me that you fall apart at 30-something? I thought it happened at a much older age!

Busy times....

2008-09-16T17:58:00.002-04:00

Its been a busy two weeks. School started, Boy Scouts started and I went back to work. Both of our kids are enjoying this year. Am is super excited about US Military History (if you remember she didn't ask for that elective but got placed there). She has had homework and three projects already. I can tell what this year is going to bring- a butt load of homework! Zach is just in the same groove. Band has started and he has a new band teacher yet again- He hasn't had the same band teacher since he started band in 5th grade! Here's to hoping this on stays through the year. Neil has had one Boy Scout training so far. I have had 3 meetings and a conference for Scouts.

Here's to another busy and great school year.

First day of school

2008-09-04T10:47:00.000-04:00

Here is our annual first day of school photo- We have a 10th grader and an 8th grader. So hard to believe.

Fun

2008-08-25T11:01:00.010-04:00

Turtle Cove Waterpark just opened in May and we haven't had the chance to get out there. Zach asked to go for his birthday. What a great day. If you haven't had a chance to make it or if you think its too pricey- I am here to say that its totally worth your time and money. We were there about 4 hours and could have stayed longer. You can't take food in (they have a concession stand) but you can get a wrist band to go out and picnic.

No more little kids

2008-08-22T10:51:00.000-04:00

Zach turned 13 today. Hard to believe, I know. We took him to Turtle Cove waterpark for his birthday (pictures to come in later post).

Another great visit

2008-08-17T20:25:00.002-04:00

Last week we took another trip to the B. Bed and Breakfast. Cara had invited Donna and the girl's. So I loaded Neil's car with the seven of us and all of our stuff for the journey. It was a little chaotic with the 7 of us and the 6 of them but we had an awesome time. Th little kids even got along-which in my book is amazing when you have 5 kids trying to play together. The teens and preteen just hung around playing Gameboys and watching the Moll's. The mom's even got some scrapbooking in. We can never thank Cara and Jason enough for inviting us, housing us and couping with that many people.

Family day

2008-08-08T10:50:00.002-04:00

My grandpa came into town for his usual summer visit. We always throw a get together so everyone can see him while he is here. Along with my grandpa coming , I had a cousin who graduated this year. So why not have his grad party at the same time.

My grandfather and all his kids-

Brent, Nelson (Chuck), Robert (Bubba),

Mark, Sharon, Michelle (Shellie), Teresa (Terri),

Judith (Judy), Susan (Sue)

My grandfather and his grandkids-

Timothy, Andrea, Mitchell, Lisa, Michael, Troy, Me,

Tina, Kayla, Melissa, Lindsey, Hillary, Joshua,
Caleb (CJ), Emalia, Alyssa, Grandpa, Macy and Breanna

Grandkids that are missing-Lori, Matthew, Faith, Ryan, Amy, Bradley and Devon

The great grandkids-

Zachary, Amber,

Austin, Tye, Ethan (held by Tye), Cody, Bradley, Mackenzie, Brandon,

Haidyn (in stroller), Dylan,

Rebecca and Larissa

Great grandkids missing- Audrey, Samantha, Ryan's Baby (name not known), Alex, Matthew's baby (not yet born) and Savanah

Some of my favorite snapshots of the day-

I do believe a great day was had by all.

And the mailman lives.....

2008-08-06T19:32:00.002-04:00

I think he is lucky to survive. We received a phone call from the high school 2 weeks ago that told us that schedules would arrive the first week in August. Everyday this week Am has been at the mailbox just as soon as she hears the mailman. No luck until this afternoon when she received a message from a friend that their schedules were posted on their web page through the school. Her hopes were to get into weight training class and Honors government. Here is what she ended up with:
US Military History
English 10
Geometry
Biology
Spanish 2
Advanced Physical Fitness
Personal Finance
Honors Government
She is a tad disappointed with not getting into weight training and puzzled by US Military History (which was not one of her back up choices). Well I guess we will see.

Movie Star

2008-08-04T10:59:00.004-04:00

Have you heard that they are filming a new movie in Detroit? Well they are and its being filmed right outside Neil's building. He can see the action out his window. He has not been able to spot the movie star yet- oh yeah I forgot to tell you that the star is Clint Eastwood. I am sure that my husband will be using his lunch hour to get as close as he can to the action. I wish he would have taken my camera.

Beach Day

2008-07-24T10:30:00.000-04:00

I can't even remember the last time I spent the day at the beach. I even forgot what it was like to pack lunch, towels, drinks, sun block and everyone. We had a great day-the weather was nice and the kids truly enjoyed it.
Another great visit at Cara and Jason's!

15 already????

2008-07-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

Where has time gone? Yesterday, I was in labor and being rushed into an emergency c-section and Today she is 15.

Passed

2008-07-01T12:05:00.002-04:00

Am did it! She passed her written test on Friday and then her driving portion yesterday. She is now the proud owner of a Level 1 driving permit.

Note- Pictures to follow when Neil gets back and fixes the download feature!

this is cara

2008-06-27T20:02:00.004-04:00

posting on tara's blog...how freaky..

just wanted to show off my photoshop (elements) skills...cause i just made tara a new avatar...

i took these two pictures...

and made them into this....

aren't i amazing?

you can read more about me at my blog.
i'm done hijacking tara's blog now. please go back to your regular programming.

Baby from H***

2008-06-24T23:46:00.007-04:00

Have been needing to post about our baby adventure. The last two weeks at our school is a program called Project Term. Project term is when the kids get to pick a class from a list that they want to learn more about. The list is topics that aren't normally taught during the year. Our daughter choose Child Development class. They had to wear a empathy belly, go visit the day care, talk about sex, talk about sexually transmitted diseases and care for a "real" baby doll. The baby has a computer chip that records how long it cries, if it has been shaken, if its head falls back and other items.

I call her after school on the day she is bring the baby home and she answers in a whisper. "Mom, I can't talk because I just got my baby back to sleep after he had been crying for 25 minutes." Then when I get to softball practice the team says "don't touch the baby because he cried the whole ride over." At this point we are liking the baby and the learning experience that she is getting.

Fast forward to bedtime- He is crying- she feeds him and changes his diaper and burps him. He continues to cry for 40 minutes. I can't even describe how freakin' loud this thing cries. Needless to say he was up crying 4 times in the night. Every time we are up 45 minutes at least while she does all the things she needs to and he just cries. Hence the reason for the title of this blog.

This definitely made an impression on both of our children! It also reinforced to Neil and I the reason he had his procedure.

Happy Birthday Secret Asian Man

2008-06-24T23:35:00.002-04:00

Today my S.A.M. turned 35!

I asked him what he wanted the next year to bring. To which he replied, in his own unique way, I hope to grow some hair.

Happy Birthday my love!

Driving-oh my!

2008-06-24T23:16:00.004-04:00

Amber started drivers training on the 9th. She had 3 days of classes before she had her first day of driving. They pick the kids up at there homes and then they are returned home after driving. I need to clarify-Amber was picked up second and the first teen was driving here and then drove for an hour. They then switched drivers and Amber got to drive the second hour. Yes , that means her very first time driving was out on the road. Her driving second makes it hard for me to get a picture of her behind the wheel. Here she is riding in the back seat on the first day-

So fast forward to last Saturday (June 21)- She has to drive and I am away at the Baker Bed and Breakfast for Girl's weekend (more to come on that fun adventure). I get a text message that reads "I did it" and a picture of a pink piece of paper that says Driving permit. I call to find out what that means. She drove through a hail and rain storm so she is getting great bad weather driving practice. Anyway, after her hour she was handed a driving permit so that she can drive with Neil or I. She hasn't even finished class yet! She has her written test on Thursday and then drives all weekend and Monday. After Monday then she has to go apply for her more permanent permit- the one she has now is only good through the 5th. I can't believe she is old enough to be driving.

I have spent lots of time the last two days letting her drive me around. She is actually a pretty good driver. Only a few minor things that I have had to give her more instruction on- like breaking too long in a turn- I am so afraid of being rear ended!

I will keep you posted on her success and completion of Level 1 Drivers Education.

Summer

2008-06-10T21:23:00.003-04:00

I can say that summer has official started because I finished my last day of work for 2 months. I will be filling in for Missy while she takes her 2 week vacation in July. I am glad to be done.

We have no big plans for the summer. The Guys will be going to Boy Scout summer camp at the end of the month. Amber has started Drivers Ed and will start driving this Thursday. I have 2 trips to the Baker Bed and Breakfast scheduled- which is always a great time! I hope to be able to make a trip North and maybe this year make it over to Mackinaw Island (I say that every year and we never seem to make it!). Can you believe Neil and I have never been, its sad but true.

Have pictures to upload of some events that I need to blog about. I can't seem to get my camera to download my pictures only Neil can get it to work. Sometimes I hate technology!

Stay Cool!

Prom Pictures

2008-05-30T19:56:00.010-04:00

Here they are the long awaited prom pictures:

The young lady in blue is Danielle. The back story is that Danielle also went to Summit, however they were never in the same class. She also has down syndrome. They both transferred out of Summit to the Skill Center. They ride the bus together and they pick at each other the whole ride. We have said its the natural love hate relationship. Well they were each others dates to prom.

Major Update

2008-05-19T19:46:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that its been this long since my last post. We have been extremely busy with the following activities:

Amber started softball. We have had at least 3 games a week (some have been double headers). When she isn't at a game she is at practice. We have had some issues with the young coaching staff-swearing at the girls, belittling them and such. So I have had to sit through every practice because that is the only time they seem to have their crap together.
I have taken a full time job. I am working for Head Start as a cook aide. This has been a huge adjustment for my whole family.
We have purchased me a new car. The newest car I have ever owned. We bought a 2006 Ford Fusion.
Zach has been working hard in band and has a solo in the band concert that is tomorrow night.
I have kept my favorite job- The Mega Meet. We had a great convention this year!
Last week Neil and I went to prom with Joshua. He called and asked us to take him. He looked so great. We were truly honored to take him. It is just amazing how much he has grown. He has a friend that also has downs- they actually went to Summit together and moved over to the Resource Center together. They went as "dates". He bought her a corsage and she bought him a bouteneer. They sat together and he even went and retrieved her drinks for her. It was so cute! She kept saying " Josh you look so handsome". I still can't believe he is old enough to have a crush or date. Pictures to come soon, I promise!
We registered Amber for drivers ed. She starts on the 9th. I can't believe she is old enough to drive!
I went to see my friend dance in her very first dance recital yesterday. She was great! It made me remember all my years in dance. I am not sure that I could do it now. Congrats Cara!
Zach and Neil have had two Boy Scout camp outs. Needless to say they have been interesting. Some of the new boys in our troop are handfuls.
Neil has been busy at work and with helping pick up the slack at home.

I am sure that I have forgotten some items. I promise to not go so long in between my posts.

3rd place

2008-03-17T09:23:00.002-04:00

Woo Hoo! We are so proud of him! He placed 3rd for Wayne County. He is disappointed. He was extremely nervous- way more than last time. If you watched if on tv you would have seen his facial expression when he spelled his word wrong. He knew he did it before they even told him. After the competition he said - I knew the word, I was so nervous. There is always next year! If you did not get a chance t o watch the event on tv and would like to let us know. We are supposed to get a copy from channel 7. We would be more than happy to share it.
We also would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and good wishes!

Channel 7

2008-03-16T12:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we went for Zach's taping of the final Spelling Bee for our area. I will share what happened after it airs on tv tonight- WXYZ-Channel 7- at 7pm tonight(Sunday March 16th)

Long Awaited Spelling Bee Photos

2008-03-14T18:12:00.008-04:00

As promised here are some pictures from the Detroit News District Spelling Bee.

Zach and his trophy!

New Look

2008-03-14T15:07:00.002-04:00

How do you like the look of my blog?
I love it!
It all thanks to my bestest friend! Want to see what else she can do? Check her out here- carascreations

Bad Blogger

2008-03-14T11:09:00.003-04:00

Yes that's me! I have been so busy that this area has been on the bottom of my to do list. I have lots to update- How I got this cool new design, How the school tried to suspend Zach for not have gym pants, I have tons of pictures I need to load and much much more!
Hope to get all updates done tonight.
PS- tomorrow- Saturday, March 15th Zach will be in the Detroit News! Get your copies before we buy them all!

Spelling Bee Champ

2008-03-02T01:30:00.003-05:00

Today started out with everyone of us a nervous wreck. We headed to the Detroit public Library for the Wayne County District Spelling Bee. If you have been reading my blog than you will remember that in January, Zach won his school's spelling bee. We got to the Library in time to see the first district compete. Zach sat in his chair and spelled all the words, quietly. Then it was time for him to go back to the staging room. We said goodbye and off he went. His district had 16 other children in it. He looked like he may get sick when he took his seat on the stage. The pronouncer introduced each kid by saying their name, their school and the schools location. He then gave them a practice word. Zach's practice word was Academy- how funny was that- not only did the pronouncer just say Academy when he introduced him but it was on his Number tag that he wore on his chest. He continued to spell the following words- Morgue, Iguana, Corporal, Dynamic, Concerto, Parfait. At the point of Parfait, it was down to Zach and one other boy. Zach spelled Parfait correct and the other boy spelled his word wrong. That left Zach having to spell one more word to win. The word he got was Insidious. Which he spelled Insideous(After the Bee Zach said I knew how to spell it but I said the wrong letter- nervous). That meant that the boys had to go another round. Zach then got the word Metaphor. The other boy again spelled his word wrong. Back to Zach to spell Oratorio- Yeah we are not sure what it means either! But this is how he did- http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1989
As you can see HE WON!!!!
We are so excited. Couldn't stop shaking or crying. Whats the next step you ask- Well he will be going to Channel 7 news in Southfield to compete against the other 3 district champs for Wayne County on March 15th. The show will air on March 16th at approximately 7 pm.

Joshua Quote

2008-02-14T11:33:00.002-05:00

Had to pick Josh up today. He is looking through a folder from school that is full of Valentines cards and this is what happened-
Me- To Jessica, From Micalah
Joshua- Yeah Micalah
Me- But the card says To Jessica
Josh- Yeah Girls!

Scrapbook Layouts

2008-01-27T17:14:00.001-05:00

As promised here are a few of my recent layouts.

To see more of my layouts go to the Mega Meet Gallery.

Busy

2008-01-24T13:17:00.000-05:00

Wow can't believe that it has been so long since I last blogged. So lets catch up....

My last post was right before Amber was starting in her first Varsity Basketball game. She was a ball of nerves. She went out and played really well. She did not score but she had several that were very close. We won that game 45 to 10. Last week we had 2 more games, which we won both. The best part was that she finally scored her first basket as a varsity player. It was great how the whole team was so supportive of her. They all stood up and cheered! The Lady Dragons are 9 wins to 3 loses. What a great season so far!

Zach has been busy with Boy Scouts. He just achieved the rank of Star Scout. We are so proud of him! He has his eyes set on becoming an Eagle Scout. For those of you that are not familiar with Boy Scouts- he only has Life and Eagle ranks to go. I know that sounds easy but it will take him about 2 years to accomplish all the requirements. Last week he made the schools finals for the Scripps Spelling Bee. He held his own and had some very hard words. The judges had to confer on one of his spellings- Mahi Mahi- He spelled it with a - between the 2 words and the announcer told him he was wrong. Well it can be spelled either way and so they allowed him to continue on. The spelling bee only lasted 4 rounds with Zach being the winner! We are so excited for him. The next step is in March- he will go to District semi finals at the Detroit Library. This is all for the Scripps National Spelling Bee- the one that is broadcast on tv. If he wins the district semi finals then he goes on to District finals which will be on channel 7. The winner of that goes on to the National level with kids from across the country. Keep your fingers crossed.

Neil is getting ready to take a certification class through work. He is very excited about the opportunity. If all goes well he will be eligible for a new position in the company. I have been busy playing taxi driver and sports mom. Oh yeah, I also turned a year older and boy is it showing! I feel like singing-Wash that Gray Right out of my Hair! I have had lots of time to scrapbook. I need to take pictures and upload them to the Mega Meet gallery. I will also post some here. Until then...

Stay Warm

Starter

2008-01-10T15:18:00.000-05:00

Quick post today.... Amber just called from school and the coach came to see her today. He wanted to let her know that she is starting in tomorrows Basketball game! Woo Hoo! This is the first time she has started all year. She has really been working hard on her shooting and I think its starting to pay off. Needless to say she is extremely ecstatic. I will post tomorrow night after the game.
Go Lady Dragons!

New Year's Adventure

2008-01-01T21:10:00.000-05:00

I have to say since I have known Cara I seem to be more "adventurous". Some examples- Driving 3 hours, by myself to spend one night with a friend, packing up and driving myself and 2 kids on an hour notice, and then there's today's adventure. Her and her husband invited us for New Years Eve but we had already made plans. Then she invited us for New Years Day, which included the U of M game and Prime Rib dinner. I got up this morning and watched the weather and traffic and about 10 decided that it may be ok to go. So we left our place at 10:40 and started our drive. The drive started out normal and then we hit Troy. That's when the roads we terrible. At one point a car splashed snow and ice on the windshield and Neil couldn't see to drive. After Flint the roads were ok again. Made it to Cara's at 1:15- not too bad. We settled right in to the game and snacks. At half time we started dinner and it was great- Prime Rib, Sweet Potato Fries, Cheesy Grits, Salad, Devil Eggs and Grilled Veggies ( Sorry I took no pictures but I know Cara did and I am sure that you can view them on her blog- http://carascreations.blogspot.com/index.html ) After dinner we went back to the end of a great game and win by U of M. We then packed up and started our journey home. Needless to say the roads tonight made this morning look tame. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get home on a drive that should only take about 2 hours. A ton of spin outs and we even got to see an SUV - who was going far to fast and then proceeded to cut off another car- hit the center wall. I forgot to say that this occurred only 4 cars in front of us. I also have to say that I Love my husband and the fact he has a lot of patience- especially for my side seat driving! So I am thinking if the first day of the New Year was this adventurous then what do the other 364 days have in store.

Christmas Wrap Up

2007-12-31T18:08:00.000-05:00

Our holiday started on Christmas Eve. Our tradition is that we go to my Mom and Dad's for hors 'doeuvres. After we eat we then play some sort of game or cards- this years choice was dominoes. Lets just say it was not my night. We laughed so hard and had a great night.

After the game we headed to our next tradition- My In Laws. They go to midnight mass and then we open presents. We did not attend church this year. We were happy that it was not snowing this year. Amber got a Gateway Laptop and is totally thrilled. Zachary got a guitar and can't wait to start lessons. Neil got dress shirts and I received money for my Zune or IPod. Oh and I also received a new set of Pearls. Santa was good to us at the J's.
When we got home at 1 am we decided that we would open our presents at home and then we could sleep in. Amber received this:

We told her that it didn't come in and so she was totally surprised!

Zachary opened this:

in case you can't tell its a Zune ( MP3 player).
Christmas day we went over to my parents again for dinner and presents with my family. For the first time,in a very long time we all were together. We had an awesome traditional meal. Then Amber and Troy played Dance Dance Revolution- this was there next match up after Thanksgiving and the Guitar Hero game. Everyone got into the fun and soon we broke out Hillary's Guitar Hero. What a blast that was- we even talked Jim into playing.

I hope you all had as much fun as we had!

Here's to next year and what it may bring (hopefully a new house for us)!

Adventure Update

2007-12-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

Took Cara and family to airport yesterday morning to catch their flight. They did finally leave Michigan- an hour later then they were supposed to. Got a text message last night of Cara's smiling face. Glad they made it to warmer weather. Will let you know when they make it home- as weather man is saying snow again on Sunday- the day they are flying home.

Adventure

2007-12-16T19:27:00.001-05:00

Today I was supposed to take Cara, Jason and kids to airport for their morning flight to Orlando. Here's a run down of how that went- Jason called at about 8 am- They were on their way but as they were driving here they got a message that their flight was postponed. They found this out after waking up extremely early, getting pushed out of her aunts subdivision and driving the horrific roads. They had already rescheduled for later that afternoon. So what to do with 6 extra people was my task. Thankfully my Mom is great and let me bring all 6 to hang out until flight. They came by here and I jumped in van and off we went to Mom's. We spent the day chatting and watching kid movies. Jason checked new flight statues about 3 hours before new flight time and it said still on time. Jason went out to get car ready and Cara and I started rounding up kiddos when..... phone rang cancelled flight, again. So off to the phone and computer to find new flight. New flight tomorrow mid morning. What to do now? Hillary called her hotel and got them a room for the night. We loaded up and off we went. Neil brought food and then we swam. Neil, the kids and I left them so they could get a good nights sleep and we will try again tomorrow!

Youtube

2007-12-11T16:34:00.000-05:00

What did we ever do without it?

I don't browse it very often but Neil does. You can loose hours watching youtube. These are some of my recent favorites- Torn and Thriller. Last week Kate had Zach and I watching this , this and this .

What are your favorites? Tell me and I will post them here for all to view.

Rein-mingo

2007-12-11T09:41:00.000-05:00

What?- you are saying.

This is Rein-mingo

Let me start with the story. My Aunt Judy is obsessed with Flamingo's. Not sure that obsessed is a strong enough word! Back to the story- She decided that she would turn lawn flamingo's into Santa's reindeer this year-hence the name Rein-mingo. She even painted the "lead" one with a red nose! The picture doesn't do them justice. They are so cute and a head turner.

Elfed

2007-12-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

I have seen this on several posts. I finally got around to doing one of us.

click on the picture

B-ball

2007-12-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

Summit has a new Girls Basketball coach. Coach Ron brings great things to our school. He held tryouts and really wanted to make a JV team, unfortunately not enough girls. He had to make cuts at that point. Amber was worried that she would be cut - however to her surprise she made the Varsity team. Coach Ron told her that she was a strong JV player so he didn't want to cut her because he couldn't make a JV team. He plans on working with her and making her a strong Varsity player. We have already seen changes in her.

We have had 3 games so far- First game was in Dundee, who we lost to ( I can't remember the score). Our Second game was at West Village, this game we won 43 to 20. Our Third game was at Britton-Macon and again we lost- score was 32 to 50. We have two more games scheduled this week.

Go Lady Dragons!

Busy weekend

2007-12-03T13:34:00.000-05:00

Not sure that it was any busier than our week. Friday my aunt and i went out to Rock Financial Showplace for the Holiday show and Marketplace. Not what I expected but we still had a great time. I purchased Neil and Hillary's gifts. So productive day. Then Amber had a basketball game in Detroit (more about that in another post).

Saturday had to go get items for our annual cookie baking day. I stopped and picked Josh up on my way.

Josh and Zach helped me make these- S'mores ( BIG thanks to Cara for the recipe). They are jumbo marshmallows dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed graham crackers.
The boys also helped me make the dough and cut out the sugar cookies.

Sunday- I picked up my Aunt Judy and we headed to my moms - way too early. My cousin Tina and Missy were waiting for us. My mom ended up having to work so Josh, Dave and Hillary stood in for her! This year we each had to make one type of cookie at home and then bring all the ingredients for the second. We spent ALL day baking. Baking makes you so tired.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T01:21:00.000-05:00

went very well. I made a deal with my mom this year that if she supplied all the ingredients for dinner then I would be the chef. I have only cooked the whole meal one other time and it was years ago. I found new recipes for stuffing and cranberry relish. I have to say that they both turned out great- along with the rest of dinner. We had dinner set to start at 2 but we ended starting at about 2:30 - not too bad. I didn't get any pictures of our meal-just too busy. My brother and Erin came along with my grandma wood- Missy and Jim and kids were at the cabin.

After our meal and before dessert we usually play board games or cards-not this year. Neil's brother has a playstation 3 and just bought Rock Band. For those who don't know - its a game disk that also includes, a drum set, guitar and microphone. You need 3 players, one for each instrument and a lead singer. You choose your song and the game directs each player when they need to either play their instrument or sing. You must keep up or you lose your audience and get booed off the stage. I give Troy a lot of credit- most of the songs he didn't know that well and it was funny to see if he could try and keep up. I can say we never laughed so hard! Sorry for the bad color on the video-

I can't wait to see what Christmas brings.
Hope your day was as fun filled as ours!

10th Anniversary

2007-11-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

10 years ago today I married my best friend. I can not put into words how much Neil means to me. He is the love of my life and my best friend.
Neil worked a short day today - due to the Holiday so we decided to go to breakfast as our anniversary meal. We went to Bob Evan's and this is what I had:

Cinnamon Chip Stuffed Pancakes. They were stuffed with a creme, had cinnamon chips in the pancakes and topped with whip topping and a cinnamon glaze. They were so good but too sweet so I could only eat about 1/2.

Neil- I love you and look forward to spending the rest of my life with you!

Another great dinner

2007-11-06T23:03:00.000-05:00

again it came from the Fix-It and Foget-it cookbook.
Southwestern Flair by Phyllis Attig
4 lb chuck roast
1 envelope dry taco seasoning
1 cup chopped onions
1 TBSP white vinegar
1 1/4 cup green chiles (I used a 1 7oz can)
Place meat in bottom of slow cooker. Then combine the other ingredients and pour over meat. Cover and cook for 9 hrs on slow.
Shred meat with fork. Serve in a flour tortilla topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese.
If you and your family love mexican then you will love this.

Mothering

2007-11-05T18:26:00.000-05:00

I will stand up for my children at any cost! Those of you that know me should know that by now. I have ever right as a parent to do so! Any GOOD mother would do the same thing. I do not let my children give up on things without a very length conversation.
We (Neil and I) have had several conversations with Amber. We don't want what happened this season to detour her from playing again (because Amber's frustration has been building all season). We also don't want her to think that she can quit when things get rough-this is not something that we encourage or let happen.

Hopefully we can get past this and move on!

Dinner Tonight

2007-11-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

was a new recipe out of my favorite cookbook - Fix-It and Forget-It. It was super easy - only 8 ingredients, which most people already have in their pantry. It was Tater Tot Casserole- By Shirley Hinh.
32 oz bag frozen Tater Tots
1lb Hamburger, browned
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 - 14 1/2 oz cans Green Beans (I only used 1 can and it was enough, Drained
10 3/4 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp. dried onions
1/4 cup milk
Place Tater Tots in bottom of Crock Pot. Mix all other ingredients together and then pour over Tater Tots. Cook On High for 3 hrs. Can serve with cheese on top- which I did becasue we LOVE cheese!

Yummy:)

Grocery Shopping

2007-11-05T11:56:00.000-05:00

I have changed the way I grocery shop. First, we sit down as a family and look through all my cookbooks and recipe cards. Side note- Right now my favorite cookbook is Fix-It and Forget-It, Meals for your crock pot. We decide our meals for 2 weeks. I then go through my cupboards and see what I have for the recipes. Next I make my shopping list. Changing my shopping habits has reduced the amount of money I spend at the store and reduces my time at the store, which I love! The other thing I am liking about this new plan is that we are trying new meals- some we love and some we hate!

Happy eating-

Volleyball Districts

2007-11-02T23:18:00.000-04:00

Was extremely frustrating. The same girls got played all 5 games. They kept making the same mistakes and yet they were kept in while we had girls sitting on the bench! Amber got to play for all of 3 rotations in the 2nd game. Which we felt was ok, until she sat there while the same girls made the same mistakes over and over and over again. The reason she was not played was that she was not a junior or a senior! That really sucks! I am not saying that she is the greatest player but she is an average player-most days serves better then a couple of the juniors.
We do not have a jv team so all the girls play on varsity or are supposed to. Telling a player that you are not playing them because they are not the right status is not ok. This is a team, she made the team, kept her grades up, was at practice on time and dressed(unlike most of the team) and was at all games.
If you do not let them play how will they get better?
Needless to say Amber is crushed. She spent the car ride home in tears. Her self esteem is bruised-not understanding why she is the only player that was played so short tonight.
We are scheduled for a tournament on Monday and Amber informed me she will not be going. I am torn-one part of me wants to make her go but the other part is totally fine with her decision. I guess I will wait and see how I am feeling in the morning.

Quality Time

2007-11-01T21:30:00.000-04:00

Neil and I spent some quality time together tonight as he combed the LICE out of my hair! Yep you read that right.. I had lice.
Let me start at the begining- Last Monday I started using a different shampoo and conditioner. On about Wednesday my head started itching. I thought it was the shampoo so I stopped using it. Well my head kept itching, so I thought maybe it needed a few days to get the shampoo out of my system. This Monday I had Neil check my head and he said he found nothing. Still itching. Had him check again last night-again nothing he says. Called my mom today, asked if she would come look. Had high hopes that she would find nothing like Neil. Well she was unsure because she said what she was finding was the color of my hair. I decided to treat anyway.
I need to say - I love my husband! He sat and combed my thick, semi long hair. Not an easy task. Anyway as he was combing we realized it was a great idea to be treating me.
I have no idea where I caught lice, but I did have it. I am the only one. So in a week I will do a treatment again. UGH!

Courtney and Jason's Wedding

2007-10-29T10:28:00.000-04:00

I was asked by Courtney to take the photos at her wedding, which was Saturday. I enjoy taking photos but was nervous to take such important photos. The wedding was non-traditional- they got married in a hall and the service was only 30 minutes long (if that).
Her dress was simple in the front. In back there was this beautiful teal bow.

Courtney and Jason.

Jordan, Courtney, Jason and Tim- The wedding party.

The five of us. We
aren't all
together very often so it was nice to get a photo.

Working???

2007-10-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

This is how Neil and his coworkers spent their day! At least he was getting paid to act like this!

And yes that is Neil in the jester costume!

I knew something was up when I got a phone call this afternoon asking me "How do you get your camera to take movies?"
Boys and Their Toys

Annoyed

2007-10-22T21:15:00.000-04:00

at yet another Volleyball game screw up! Several weeks ago our Thursday, October 25th game was changed to today. Well at 3:00 Amber called to say that the game was off. I should tell you that the game was supposed to start at 5:30. We, meaning our school, changed the game without confirming with the other team! Way to do your job, Athletic Director!

Catching Up...

2007-10-21T16:27:00.000-04:00

As you can see I started this blog in July. I wasn't happy with the name I choose or the way it was set up. I finally found a name I liked and decided that I was ready to move forward.
Since last post..
Amber has started High School. We are finding that it is more difficult then we imagined. For the first time she has a C. The level of work is very challenging. I am told not to worry yet as she will find her groove. Volleyball is going well and taking up everyday. She enjoys having Hillary for her coach.
Zach is enjoying Middle School and having a laptop to work on. He is excelling in band again this year and is in the advanced band program. His goal is to be first chair for his section. I guess I should tell you that he plays the clarinet. He is also advancing in Boy Scouts. He always has is goal of being an Eagle Scout in the forefront of his mind. We are assured he will reach that goal.
Neil and I are just busy keeping up with the kids activities. We are also house hunting! We can't wait to move.
Off to do some scrapping-

Life...

2007-07-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

has been busy. We have been doing some home repairs that we need to finish this weekend. I always love the thought of painting until I actually start! We are trying to get the painting and projects done before my Essential Body Wear Party that is on Monday night.

In June Amber graduated from 8th grade. Wow, hard to believe that we have a high schooler! She is anxiously awaiting her schedule.

Zach is going into 7th grade. He did really well in school this year. He was first chair in band for the clarinet. He loves being a Boy Scout. His goal is to be an Eagle Scout. Right now he is a

First Class Scout. Next week he is attending 2 Merit Badge workshops at Wayne County Community College.

Neil is working. Still likes his job. He is an Assistant Scoutmaster in Zach's troop and is getting ready to go to summer camp with them.

Thats what has been happening around here.

Welcome

2007-07-11T23:04:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while. Finally decide to take the plunge. My goals for my blog is to keep family and friends updated on what is happening in our family.
I will post again soon.