Monday Morning on the Mommy Front

As if it were ever in question, it was most solidly confirmed last night that I am, in fact... a mom. I was planning to watch the Oscars. I always watch the Oscars, ever since.. well.. as far back as I can remember. For a person who, by my own admission, isn't really all that in to movies, I love me an awards show. The dresses, the speeches, the speculation. It's like watching an entire election in one night, with better clothes and less stress. After all, whether the Academy snubs Johnny Depp has no real barring on my life.

So yesterday, we had dinner early (for us anyway), and I settled in with a glass of soda and some Pringles to the red carpet coverage and quickly realized something... out of all the nominated films and actors I had actually seen two of them: How to Train Your Dragon, and Toy Story 3. The only films I'd seen made up 2/3 of the animated feature category. (For the record I was totally dead on in my assurance that Buzz and Woody would get the nod from the Academy.) Oops.. I guess the key factor in awards shows would be that I should have at least heard of the nominated films. (I do believe I had in fact heard of 80% of them.) Oh well, I don't need to know how the Black Swan, coached the fighter into making the King's speech to know an ugly Valentino gown when I see one. :)

P.s. Would you believe those delicious popcorn kernels above are actually soap?

They're on Etsy.. talk about a talented crafter!

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday... (a little bit late)

1. Capture the Sky

The weather this weeks has sucked, and was not at al inspiring but here goes it... the ice melting off my roof. Is spring finally coming?

2. Everyday. This is as everyday as it gets around here. Nuk in the mouth, one hand on the horse, the other on a muffin. (This picture will repeat between 9 and 11 a.m. daily!)

3. Furry. I didn't have the energy to chase down the cat.. but Luke thinks his pillow pet is "delightfully furry."

4. Life

Sometimes life is hard. Other times its just exhausting and leaves you feeling like you just woke up from a nap far to soon, and it's just you and your mouse against the world.

5. Blurred.

What happens when you quickly shoot 25-30 shots of your son's indoor basketball game, only to realize you never adjusted the camera settings from when you attempting some outdoor manual focus shots the day before. Oops.

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Friday Night Leftovers... (the it's my birthday edition!)

To being with.. yes I do realize it is no longer Friday. It's Saturday. My thirty years on this planet have taught me to read a calender. :) But...it's been a crazy week that led to little blogging and frankly..... It's my birthday so I'm doing Friday Night Leftovers if I want to! :)

*disclaimer.. this is not my birthday cake, but it's pretty isn't it?

* The boys finished soccer and basketball this morning. They both got a trophy. Teague was so proud of those little plastic gold soccer players. It might have even been worth dealing with all his sensory issues to survive the season.

* Charlotte has learned to "color" and it's so cute. I think she's a little young for that but she seems to love it.

*Charlotte has also learned to climb on the table. Its nerve wracking to say the least. Everytime you turn around she's standing on something.. the table, the train table, the back of her pony like a carnival girl!~ Thanks Grandma Coreen. (For the record let it be known that after an hour of watching her play with her pony this week I told Jason "That is the kid who is going to ask for a pony."

* Teague had an evaluation from the Intermediate School District this week regarding his sensory issues. I hated to do it, but if I am even considering preschool next year now is the time. The initial evaluation went well, and we have a full evaluation scheduled for March 15th.

* Speaking of school I visited a really nice private school this week. Can I just say how much I hate living in an area where the public schools are so bad my only real options for a quality education are homeschooling, private school, or school of choicing them out of them area? And none of those options are cheap, or easy.

* After some initial drama at the dance studio this week things seems on the upswing. That's really all I can say. But needless to say, I'm optimistic and relieved.

* Luke is obsessed with Ghost Hunters. And, according to his newest t-shirt... is hoping to become the newest member of T.A.P.S. (The Atlantic Paranormal Society).

* Finally, it's my birthday today and even though most people think I am crazy not to deny being a day older than 29... I love my birthday and I am looking forward to a dinner out with good friends.

It's a Not Me Monday (accompanied by the many face of Luke.)

1. It was not me who completely forgot to take any birthday pictures of Luke until we were in the hotel in Grand Rapids in his pajammas. I am WAY more together than that. For that matter it was also not me who made his birthday cake for his Saturday birthday on Monday.

2. It was not me that begged Jason to dig the van out from under 8 inches of snow and 1/4 inch of ice because I was starving and had no snack food in the house. That would be completely crazy, I don't act that way.

3. It was not me who medicated herself into a blissful night's rest yesterday. But if it were I wouldn't blame myself.. that Sudafed behind the counter is totally worthwhile.

4. It is not me who got so excited when she saw that Rachel Ray was doing slow cooker meals all week that she clapped like a school girl. I'm never in a cooking rut. Never.

5. It was not me who announced that Molly dressed "like A - an out of work ballerina, or B- an Indian grandmother, but nothing in between" today. That would have been insensitive, and not mommy cool. But whoever did say that probably had a point -- it's cami's and sweats or today's look, a sweater dress over yoga pants around here. The ballet bun 24/7 doesn't help either!

And finally, it's not me who took this total cop out of a blog post today. There's tons going on, but nothing I am at liberty to talk about yet. Let's leave it at that! :)

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Friday Night Lefotvers (the leaving town again edition.)

* I've been a bad blogger again. Yep, you read it here first.. I suck. Life is just so up in the air right now. It's hard to know where to start.

* Charlotte had an ear infection all week. Seriously, cranky baby alert. I don't think I got any sleep at all for three days. Last night when she finally went down like normal I couldn't sleep. WTHeck?!~

* My favorite Teague quote of the week? "I am not a bad boy. I am a good boy that sleeps in a puddle." Yeah, we're having bedwetting issues. - sigh -

* Speaking of Teague he has an ISD evaluation next week for his sensory issues. I'm nervous, and sad, and dreading/looking forward to it all that same time. It's just so much.

* We have a friend who sold their house this week. I'm super happy for them, but admit-ably a little jealous. They're moving to a much bigger, "cooler" town and me? I'm looking to make my stay here even more permanent. It's not that I mind it so much anymore, but it's just never where I pictured myself ending up.

* I heard some REALLY upsetting things at the studio this week. Not surprising, but upsetting and now I have had to start the search for a new place. It's heart breaking for me, and difficult. Anywhere else is gonna be a drive , and I'm terrified of picking the wrong thing.

* Jason and Samuel sign up for "real" little league tomorrow. He's gotten so big!

* Finally, we are headed to Grand Rapids tomorrow. Luke decided to swim in the B Cluster regional meet after all and with a 8 am warm up on Sunday, Mama decided we were overnighting it. The little boys will head to Grandmas this time, and the big kids will come. I'd have to be up by 5 to get to the meet on time Sunday and that is just NOT gonna happen. :)

Happy Weekend Everyone!

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Wordless Wednesday Post (the last of our mini-vacation)

After today it will be back to my regular posting, of our normal, daily life. Mini Vacation over. :( These are from the Pistons game and you will have to excuse the poor photo quality. My good camera is to "big" to be able t bring it into large sport venues or concerts.

Mini Vacation Report Day Two

We woke up in our comfy hotel beds Sunday morning, refreshed, relaxed, and ready for adventure. We thought about ordering breakfast in but my thriftyness won over. Jason headed to the car for a five minute trip for McDonalds breakfast. (Have I ever mentioned that I actually think hotcakes from McDonalds is possibly the best breakfast ever?) Once the kids were all syruped up we had baths, lounged in front of Spongebob and hung out in fab room some more.

Eventually it was time to get dressed and head out for adventure...

But not before Charlotte said good bye to her new best friend ... (I don't think Bear Bear was sorry to see her go.. she doesn't like sharing the spotlight as Lottie's bestest friend, lol.)

Then the kids took one last look at the skyline from the floor to ceiling windows at the end of the hallway.

We had several hours to kill between the noon check out and the basketball game so we headed over to Great Lakes Crossing, a GIANT indoor outlet mall of sorts. I was a little leary, we had forgotten our stroller at home, and the boys in a mall for hours might not pan out so well.

To be continued....

The Mini Vacation Report -- day one

Saturday afternoon was perfectly planned if I do say so myself. Knowing full well that we had both soccer and basketball that morning and that Jason had to work (meaning it would be me on my own for both games!) Keeping this in mind I quicky decided that once we dropped the big two off at Grandma's we were going to be spending day one of our mini vacation enjoying our ultra cheap hotel.

Jason announced on arrival that it was the nicest hotel he'd ever been in, and

at a posted rate on the room door of $249 a night for double occupancy our $45 priceline negotiated deal was a steal. :) We were all the way up on the 10th floor and the boys got a real kick out of looking out at the "big world" below.

Okay so you can't see the bridge here but you could when you were actually there!

It was pretty cloudy, and starting to snow but you could still make out the Renaissance Center on the skyline and fainly see the bridge to Canada.

Charlotte checked out the plushness of our sleeping arrangements, and Jason checked out the dinner options. The unexpected bonus of our fabulous hotel, was not only the in-house dining, but the two other dinner options that shared a parking lot. After a quick scan of the parking lot from above, and a quick call Jason snagged us a last minute Valentines weekend dinner reservation at Papa Vino's Italian kitchen for ten minutes out. We were super excited (and starving!)

Charlotte and I got dressed for dinner while Dad and the boys freshed up in what Teague named "the ginormous bathroom place."

A quick check in the mirror to make certain we were presentable and we were off to walk to dinner. That's right. We walked. No having to pile into the car, deal with all the seat belts, the traffic, the radio. Daddy held the princess and the little boys and I held hands as we walked across the lot to dinner. The restaurant was fabulous. It was busy but not loud, peaceful, and friendly. Did I mention the food? It was amazing. The little boys shared a pepperoni pizza, Jason has some kind of sausage rigatoni, and Princess and I shared a (giant) plate of chicken marsala and linguine. (which was also FABULOUS) The bread at the table was soft, and delicious and my New York Style Cheesecake drizzled in caramel, chocolate, and pecans was heavenly.

After we wondered back to the hotel we caved to the small human's demands and changed to check out the indoor pool and hot tub.

(even the boys got a kick out of the giant mirrors on the closet doors.)

Thankfully the hotel store sold single swim diapers and we were ready to go!

The boys promised to be on their best behavior:

And Charlotte checked in with her best friend in the world... (herself..lol)

and we were off! We had the pool almost entirely to ourselves, by the time another group came in we were ready to head upstairs. The kids were in such a good mood that Teague stopped to tell a nice "urban" looking gentleman that he really enjoyed his "pirate markings". :) (read: skull tattoo!)

Once back in our room we all changed into our pj's and snuggled into our beds to watch Megamind on the hotel TV. The perfect end to a near perfect afternoon.

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p.s. Happy Valentines Days!