Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is a family picture of us after lunch today at Maggiano's. The girls and I invited JD, Ellen, Jenni and her boyfriend Drew to eat with us. We had a fabulous lunch and enjoyed each others company.


The girls during lunch.

In front of our tree before leaving this morning.

Tottally side note here - but I found Ava's little hiding place for her snacks the other day. I've found cherrios, goldfish, crackers, candy corn, m&m's and numerous other items before but this day I got her to fess up she was the one hiding the food. I told her this had to stop! Oh, you can't really tell where it is, but its our lamp in the family room.

She didn't tell on me.....

haha!!! When she got home from school today I asked Ava is she told her teacher on me and she said no, she told her a joke instead!

This girl keeps us on our toes minute by minute!

I'm Telling My Teacher!

That is what Ava is threatening me with. LOL She and Isabella have been arguing constantly since Isabella came home from school. Actually, Ava has been a grouch all day long.

Anyway, they were arguing when I hear - Ava SPITTING at Isabella. We've had issues with this in the past - almost a year ago she got mad at me and spit at ME. So, I washed her mouth out with soap. Really, all I did was touch the toothbrush to the bar of soap and put it on her tongue - then I let her wash her mouth out with water. Send the hate mail and nasty comments about how horrible I am - I don't care! Knock yourselves out!

So, I tell Ava to head to the bathroom because she knew what she had in store for her. She wasn't happy but she did it. Again, I literally just touch the toothbrush to the soap and put it on her tongue. Well, of course she was mad at me but I just kept reminding her we do not spit in this house. That's when she told me she was telling her teacher on me!

Fast forward 30 minutes. I'm reading email and she wants to sit on my lap so I let her. She asks if I will tickle her back. I said I thought you were mad and me and going to tell your teacher on me. She said, I am tomorrow morning at school. LOL Then, a light when off in her brain and she said I'm just going to tell her I love you and you tickle my back!

Chocolate Cherries

That's what color my hair is! I haven't had it colored for way too long and there are far, far too many gray hairs streaking my head so something had to be done! An $80 color job just isn't in the budget right now (more on that later) so Steve said he'd help me out. I spent forever at Target deciding the "right" color and decided on this - Chocolate Cherries. It's more chocolate than anything but maybe there are some cherries on the inside. LOL I really like it and if I must say - Steve is quite the colorist! He had a nice methodical method to covering all those gray hairs - so I think I'll be back for a visit to Salon Steve in 6 weeks.

So, now to the reason for the home job. When we bought the house we were told the first year here we only pay taxes on the land, then by the 2nd year all exemptions are filed and you are good to go. Well, we never had the first year of land tax only and we were told by the county tax office that the homestead exemption and mortgage exemptions were filed in time for this year so all would be fine. Well, low and behold a new "law" was enacted that your closing on your house needed to happen before March 1. Guess when we closed??? 7 days later - March 8. So.....we were expecting a tax bill of around $1200-$1500 for the year but we get a close to $5K tax bill. We are now having to pay for the next 4-5 months (we've already paid one) a $700 more a MONTH mortgage payment. Not, a hundred dollars or even two hundred dollars more - nope, $700.

Thank the Lord, we have the money for it. Thank the Lord, we even have a house to have a mortgage on. We know we are blessed. But, gosh darn! That's a lot of money for a single income family. Needless to say, Christmas will be scaled back huge this year. Steve and I won't buy for each other and we've already told the kids they won't be getting as many presents this year. At first Isabella took it hard, but she's been so sweet and understanding ever since.

Luckily, Steve called the tax office and the mortgage office to figure something out. So, once we get the escrow back to a positive and have the cushion they require then it will be adjusted based on a tax estimate for next year. In the end, it will all work out fine. And thank goodness gas has gone down $2 a gallon - that's a nice pay raise right there!

Ok, whining session over.

Over Involved Parents

Is that what we are?

Here is a story from earlier today.

Driving to the gym and listening to radio Disney - (we try to say its' for the kids, but truthfully, I kinda like the songs they play) they mentioned the Jonas Brothers. I started talking to Steve about Taylor Swift (I'm really digging her music - pathetic, I know) and the fact she was dumped by one of the Jonas Brothers. The original point of my discussing it was to say that just because she's a celebrity - she's still a 19 year old girl who got her heart broke. I said I can remember heart break at 18-19 but I sure as heck didn't have to go through it in the public eye.

Well, after getting Steve up to date on Taylor Swift and her ex Jonas Brother Boyfriend, Isabella said one of them had broke up with Miley Cyrus before (um, another sad fact - I knew that already). LOL I tried to remember who was dating one of the boys and asked if it was Demi Lavato or Selena "somebody" - I couldn't come up with her last name. Well, low and behold Steve chimes in and says "Gomez". Her last name is Gomez. Then....for the good part....he went on to say, "I was watching OPRAH and saw her and her mom on there". I just looked at him and said - that is just wrong. You knew the girls last name and you learned it on Oprah! LOL

I still get that little Lavato and Gomez girl confused - I guess I should just ask Steve!

My crazy kids

The girls have been playing together so nicely all day today. They were upstairs in the loft and I was downstairs on the couch reading. They started arguing and it was so funny I couldn't do anything but laugh - and then quickly grab a piece of paper to write it all down.

Here is a play by play...

Small bickering starting between the two of them.

Ava: Isabella - you making me angy (instead of angry).

Isabella: I don't want to play with you anymore.

***toys being shuffled around***

Ava: Stop laughing at me!

SMACK! (I already know who was on the receiving end).

Isabella : Mom! Ava hit me.

Ava: You were laughing at me.

Me: Isabella, you were antagonizing your sister.

Isabella: Ava, you are a meanie.

Ava: Mom, Isabella said I'm a meanie.

Me: Well, you did smack her.

They proceed to go back and forth with each other - you did this, you said this. More laughing, teasing coming from Isabella. I even think Ava might have slapped her again during all of this but Isabella didn't tell on her for the 2nd one.

Ava: Be quiet. It's my turn to talk.

Isabella: I'm done with you Ava. BOOM - Isabella bedroom door shuts.

Ava: FINE! Go take a bath you stinky butt. BOOM -Ava's bedroom door shuts.

Me: Laughing so hard I'm shaking and have tears streaming down my face and realize yet again, why I will never win Mother of the Year.

Flu Shots

The girls got their flu shots today. Steve and I got ours a couple weeks ago and I had put off taking the girls until today. They both did great. Isabella didn't even cry! That is a shocker. She's a sweetie but she's a wimp. LOL I figured Isabella would be kicking and screaming and it would be horrible but she got up on the table and didn't say a word. She was so proud of herself. You could see it in her eyes and on her face! Ava did awesome as well. She was on the table and silent and then her eyes got big and she said to me "ouch! That hurts". She let a few tears out but was fine in a few seconds.

Now, fingers crossed they don't get the flu. Isabella got the flu the 2nd week we lived here. It was super scary seeing her that sick and for so long.

Getting healthy

I'm feeling much better today - thanks to some meds I got yesterday. Sleep still isn't coming easy when not feeling well. Hopefully, tonight will be better. Steve took Nyquil to knock him out but I am always sooooo tired and groggy if I take that I decided to suffer without it.

Operation: Get Steve healthy is in full force. Some meals have been good - others, well, I can just say they were less memorable. The other night he made chicken "hamburgers". Those were hard to get down. Isabella and I split one and chewed quickly. It's just going to take time to retrain our palette. He is only allowed 5 oz of lean meat ALL DAY long -so essentially, he eats like a vegetarian. But, man - you can only eat so many beans and lentils and whole wheat pasta. We never were poor snackers or had junk food around the house. The kids snacks have always been fresh fruit, yogurt or string cheese - it's the meals we are having a hard time with. Well, I guess because he wants to try different things out vs just having a small portion of turkey or grilled/baked chicken nightly. I LOVE Paula Deen and all her recipes. When I would use a Paula Deen recipe I would substitute whenever possible to *try* and make it healthier. Well, even a healthy version of Paula Deen is deadly to Steve's diet.

We've switched up our exercising as well. Tons and tons and tons of cardio. We've been doing the stair machine. It's not like the old fashioned stair master where your legs just went up and down - this is literally about 5 stairs that continually goes kinda like you are walking up an escalator. Well, it looks easy. But, how deceiving that is. It is horribly hard! We had to start out with 10 minutes and then build up and up and up. I'm up to 35 minutes now and hope within a week to be up to 45 minutes. When the 30-35 minutes is up - it looks like I just walked through a sprinkler - hair wet, shirt wet - a sweaty mess. But, I LOVE it. It's addicting. I'm also lifting weights with Steve. I love yoga still but am just changing things up for a little while.

Ava just woke up from a nap so off to read a book to her.

Hit by a train

That's what it feels like has happened to us. We are all suffering from allergies/sinus problems. Isabella is doing the best because she is on meds year round for her asthma so she doesn't usually get the runny noses and congestion like the rest of us. Today Ava and I have layed around all day long. Then, to top it off, yesterday while cleaning - I hurt my knee pretty bad. So, it's all nice and cut and banged up and swollen.

Sunday we had our first snowflakes fall of the season! They were pretty random and of course didn't accumulate - pretty much melted the instant they hit the ground - but it was still nice. I'll be sick of it come January - but for now it gets you in the mood for the holiday season.

Yesterday while I was cleaning (and gouging my knee cap) - Steve asked Ava what she wanted to do. They went to the gym and then afterwords she wanted to go to Meijer - kinda a small Wal-Mart like store. Well, he took the girls with him on Sunday to get groceries and the carts there had TV screens to watch TV while grocery shopping. For some reason, he wouldn't let them pay the $1 it cost to watch the TV but he ended up buying them $6 worth of stuffed animals (like we need more stuffed animals in this house). Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. So, Ava's wish for the day was to go back to Meijer and ride in the cart and watch TV. Being a great Daddy - he took her, paid the $1 and she watched Dora and Bob the Builder. He walked around the store for an hour for her to watch the same TV she could at home. LOL

Steve, Steve, Steve...........

What does it appear Ava is wearing in the next two pictures??????

Could it be, oh - let's see PAJAMA'S???????????? Yes, it would! This is what he had Ava wear to the gym today.

I was at the school all morning - I came home and they were gone. A bit later in walks Steve in his gym clothes carrying a sleeping Ava. When he came back downstairs I asked him if he realized she was wearing pajama's. He said he only realized it after he picked Ava up from childwatch and she asked him why she was still in her pajama's.

I need to add - she even slept in them last night. In his defense, he did close at work last night so, he didn't see what she was wearing - and I guess the 3 times she got up during the middle of the night he didn't notice - but - to me, they are clearly PJ's. LOL

Men!!!!!!

Politicians Lie

I was reading Isabellas journal when she got home from school today (she brings home a daily journal from school with info in it) and she had written that she voted. I asked her who she voted for and she said Barack Obama. I asked who won and she said they'd find out on Wednesday.

A bit later she said someone in class said Barack Obama was a liar. I told her, all politicians lie. To which she replied "so, John McCain lies, too". Yes, I told her. "Take that Rylea!" was her response. LOL

I honestly was impressed she knew both candidates names, although she hears us talk about them both almost daily. I'm excited for the election tomorrow and wish I was throwing an election night party! The last election night party was back in 2000 - we stayed at that party until around 2:00 in the morning. Little did we know it would be weeks before a winner was declared! Hoping that isn't the case tomorrow night.

Halloween 2008

Here are a couple of pictures from Halloween 2008. Isabella was a spiderwick vampire or something like that and Ava was a Butterfly/Fairy. We had a great time trick or treating - my mom, sister in law and niece all came up to go trick or treating with us. Amy and Jack, Chris and her girls and mom, Dee, Dialycia and my girls all went door to door. It was a fun time. Steve and Mark stayed back at the house with the fire pit going and drank a couple of beers. After ToTing everyone just sat around the campfire and a few other neighbors came over and hung out. Steve dug through my make up cases and did Isabella's make up - 2 days later she still has some remnants of it around her eyes. We've used eye make up remover, vaseline, cleansing cream and lots of scrubbing with a wash cloth and some still lingers. Another indication kids don't need to wear make up when they are young. LOL

And are heat stroked pumpkins. The kids crack me up - they only wanted to carve the ones they got on their field trips instead of buying a bigger one to carve. Next year I'll remember to take pictures the first day they are carved before they start withering away.