What we are working on in 2010

We asked the kids to list 10 things that they wanted to do this year. I have to give them, they were pretty creative.

Deacon:

1. Become a blue belt
2. Get all A’s and B’s
3. Gain 15 lbs
4. Ride the bus home and stay by myself 3 times before June
5. Finish the crocodile painting
6. Volunteer to walk animals at the animal shelter 5 times
7. Ask the Principle to allow a recycling container in the teacher's lounge and help take cans to the Human Society
8. Help deliver Girl Scout Cookies with Rena
9. Play football
10. Read 5 books that are at least 150 pages

Rena:

1. Get all A’s and B’s
2. Take a reading quiz until higher than grade level
3. Bake cookies for neighbors
4. Read 5 books over the summer
5. Read Bayla to family
6. Finish quarter collection
7. Go camping
8. Sell 320 boxes of Girl Scout cookies
9. Earn 5 Girl Scout badges at home
10. Replace the sticker decorations in her room

Like everything else, Tom and I had to put some marketing around accomplishing these goals. We are giving away $50 GameStop Gift Cards for each 5 goals they reach. Since the kids have DSi's, Wii's and laptops, we are banking on them burning through those gift cards pretty fast.

Here is the poster that will hang on the refrigerator to help the kids measure the progress they're making.

Don't worry, we didn't put all the goal setting off on the kids. This year I want to:

1. Lose 10 lbs.
2. Exercise 3 times a week.
3. Launch the AIGA K-12 Education Program in Memphis City Schools.
4. Get all birthday and holiday cards, presents mailed out on time this year.
5. Have one play date a month for each child with the choice of his/her friends.
6. Reevaluate career goals and options.
7. Sell all attic items on Ebay or craigslist.
8. Complete painting for Rena's room.
9. Pay off one credit card.
10. Change the visitation order.

Tom also wants to:

1. Loose 10 lbs.
2. Get the paperwork in order (insurance and documentation) and set up a safety deposit box.
3. Finish the office space in the spare room.

Do these shoes make my butt look smaller?

I went to the shoes store looking for one pair of grey boots, one pair of black boots with a rounded toes, a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of black dress shoes that I could wear socks with. You have to trust me on this, I was just out of shoes.

So I went into the shoe store and there it was in all of its glory. Like a shining beacon of hope for all out of shape women on it's halogen alter, I mean end cap... the new Sketchers Shape Ups.

Although I had managed to not jump in my car and run to the store when I saw the commercials, right here IN the store, I could not resist it's pull. Of course they had my size, of course they were on sale. I could practically feel the promise of a tighter rear end and strong legs as I carried the box the counter.

In the twenty minute wait at the check out counter I had the opportunity to throughly inspect the product, it's optional colored laces, the coupon and low and behold it comes with a cd! It took everything I had to not put the shoes on in the store, pay for them and just walk out with them on my feet.

So now I am the proud owner of a pair of cellulite busters. The big question... do they work? Well not in the first twenty four hours, but I will keep you posted.

Hard Work Pays Off

The princess recieved all A's and B's for her second quarter report card. As a reward she got to get her ears pierced. Doesn't sounds like a reward? Just look at her as she shows off her new earrings. She picked out her birthstone, Topaz, in a citrine color.

Finally... Thanksgiving photos

With some gently encouraging from Tom's sister, Nancy, I have finally uploaded the Thanksgiving photographs of our trip to Anderson, IA. Looking back at all of the images, more than half of them were of Jesse's cute babies Aiden and Eva. What can I say? They are super precious and I couldn't help myself. Don't worry. I will just burn her a disk. Below are a few of the family.

Side note: One of the top reasons to upload immediately is so that you don't forget anyone's name. For the life of me I can't remember the names of Jan's parents. If anyone does, please let me know.
















Grandma Gerry, Jesse and Eva.















Nancy, Jan's father, Grandma Gerry, Nick, Eva, Deacon, Dave and Rena.















Did I mention that Dave is the COOLEST cousin ever?




















Rena cares for Eva.















Katie, Jan, Nancy and Jesse.




















Jan's mother and Aiden.















Jan's mother and Tom.















Tim, Grandpa Don and Jan's father.

Holiday Treat

My friend showed me this website and I just couldn't help myself. I did one for the kids and for Tom.
Santa's PNP

Into the future

Deacon explained to us that his teacher could read palms and that she looked at his lifeline and told him he would live to be 90 years old. We asked him how much longer he would be alive and he did the math and exclaimed, "80 years!" The look of exhilaration left his face and I thought for a moment that maybe he was focusing on death. I braced myself for a tough question and then he sighed, "and I thought this week was long."

Yes, my son. It seems that way today and then one day you wonder where the time went.

Lotion = Doggie Ketchup

So last night I am doing my bedtime routine: brush the teeth, eye cream, lotion on legs, feet and hands. Callie loves to lick the lotion off of me so to make sure that Callie doesn't ingest any of this, I wear my yoga pants, long sleeve shirt and socks on both my feet and my hands. Yes, I know, I am quiet the vision before going to bed, but Tom is out of town and I all I want to do is to close my eyes for 8-9 hours. I have tucked everyone in, put the dogs on the bed, climbed in and snuggled down under my warm comforter. Callie curls up at the foot of the bed and Maya slinks under the covers and snuggles up next to my stomach. I can't be sure, but I think I remember my head hitting the pillow before I fell asleep. And off to dream world....

I was in the most beautiful meadow. The sunlight was so bright that I could barely stand to look out into the distance, but when I looked down, the field was filled with color. All different kinds of flowers in small patches separated by tall bunches of a feathery kind of grass scattered as far as the eye could see. There was a gentle breeze that kept the immense light from being hot. As wandered over the hill taking in all the different kinds of flowers, I could hear what seemed to be water. The sound of water gently lapping over rocks and I went searching for the source of this noise. I noticed on the side of the hill there was an area where the grass was taller than the rest. I ran towards it and found little pink flowers growing along a small brook. I glanced down and noticed that I was standing on a patch of flowers and that my weigh had caused the ground to puddle up. As I stood there, my feet and ankles started to hurt, to stink, like they were being pricked or bit.......... CALLIE!

My eyes opened and I tried to become aware of my surroundings before I moved. I could her licking. Callie had burrowed under the sheets and her furry body was laying along the length of my calf and she had her paws on either side of my foot. She had somehow managed to work my sock almost completely off and was dragging her soft wet tongue over the top of my foot. Occasionally she would tilt her head to the side and give my foot a slight brush with her teeth. Not exactly gnawing, but similar.

I have no idea how long I had been asleep, but her work had cause the sheets around my feet to become wet. I threw back the covers. Callie's body stiffened at the sudden exposure and her tongue stopped mid stroke and just stayed there like it was glued to my foot. Maya jumped to life and ran to the other side of the bed. Callie didn't budge. Didn't remove her tongue like I wasn't going to notice.

"CALLIE," I yelled and she sat up and looked back at me over her shoulder as if to say, "Oh, you. What do you want?" "What are you doing?" I fumed. Callie turned, laid her ears back and wagged her tail and took a shy step towards me. Furious I got out of bed and went to the pantry. I rummaged around for a few minutes until I found the golden elixir. I took the socks off my hands and sprayed the Bitter Yuck everywhere I had previously applied lotion. I marched straight back to bed, cussed at the dog, turned off the lights and went back to sleep.

Now, I must mention here that I do not wake up well. Things that may appear to make complete sense to me after a cup of coffee completely elude me before said coffee. I never read the warning label to see if Bitter Yuck would have any adverse reaction with my skin. Cause redness or swelling, turn my skin green, etc. At this rate I could have just been adding caviar to the already alluring taste of lotion. But I did manage to sleep undisturbed for the rest of the night. Maybe the Bitter Yuck was just a numbing agent and Callie complete chewed my foot off in the middle of the night.

When I did wake up in the morning, I blindly made my way to the coffee maker. Made my daily blessing to the bringer of life whose aroma helped to guide me through the land mine of dog bones and kids' toys. As I took my first few sips and could feel my blood starting to move, I remembered the events of the night. Why had it not occurred to me to just put the dog in the kennel? Why didn't I just give her a bone?

Did I dare look to see what I had done to myself? Nope. I put the coffee down and picked up the Bitter Yuck to read the warning label. "No staining formula. Non-toxic." Right there on the front of the label. I almost sighed with relief as I rotated the bottle to check the warning label. "Do not spray directly on eyes or nose."

So, I should be in the clear, right? I slowly lifted up my yoga pants to expose my ankles. Nothing. Just a few red lines from Callie's teeth. I had survived.