The Worm and The Pear

Happy 2012!

2012-02-10T14:13:00.008-05:00

Sad that it's February 10th and this my first post of the year! My main reason for that? My camera is broken, so no pictures. Gah. So, this will be a boring update with no pictures. Just use your imagination folks.

The kids are both doing well. We've had a few stomach bugs invade over the last week and all of us have been hit at one time or another. We are usually a very healthy household, so it takes us all by surprise when even one of us is sick. No fun.

Of course, we've has fun this winter, too. It's been incredibly mild this winter (I say this as it's snowing outside right now, but that is the exception this year). We are able to get outside and play almost every day, which keeps us all happy. I work in the mornings, then Michael and I usually spend the afternoons playing baseball in the backyard, walking Champy or riding the tricycle - Michael, not me. :) He loves to work on "homework" too and now knows all of his uppercase and lowercase letters, about half of the sounds, recognizes most numbers up to 100 and can write his name. I've also slipped in a few sight words and he catches on quickly!

Taylor is over halfway done with 1st grade. Wow, time flies! She loves school and does very well, earning nothing less than an "outstanding" on her report cards. She's also playing basketball right now and has made her dad proud by winning the defense award in her first two games. They have her playing mostly point right now and she already handles the ball better than I did in eighth grade. Hey, give me some credit, I was a post player. :) On Sundays, she plays indoor soccer with her club team, the Wilmington Heat. They aren't practicing right now, but she still enjoys running around each week. Her U8 team is playing in a U9 league and some of the teams are really good. It will just make them better.

Mike has been busy with basketball and is now preparing for the sectional tournament. His young team is 7-10 now and has been in every game. Not bad when you have two freshmen and two sophomores in your top seven players! They are going to be very good in the next few years. It's a very likeable group, too. Reminds me of lots of the Wabash teams back in the day. Mike spends his spare time watching the Celtics and playing basement games with the kids.

I'm still loving my current schedule, a great balance between family and work. I write for a wonderful school furniture company, www.SCHOOLSin.com. I spend Wednesdays in the office and the other days, I work from home (mostly early morning before the kids get up). My coworkers are awesome and I look forward to seeing them on Wednesdays! I also love being home with Michael during the day. Wouldn't trade it for anything right now. It's funny how things work out sometimes. Outside work and the kids, I keep myself sane by running or working out.

I promise the next update will include some pictures. I might go camera shopping this week. Hope everyone is well!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Best Friends and Basketball

2011-12-31T12:27:00.003-05:00

My dear friend Lauri and I haven't lived in the same city since we were new college graduates living the young and single life in C-bus about 15 years ago (yikes!). Since then, there have been two marriages, four births, about 10 moves, career changes, etc., etc. We still talk/text/message several times a week, communication I absolutely NEED to survive, haha. She is awesome and I was so happy to see her and her adorable family when they were in town earlier this week.

I also got to meet this guy. Nick, you are a heart stealer, that's for sure!

Taylor and her godmother, Lauri. Oh Taylor is just in love with Lauri. She has good taste. :)

Taylor, Tony and Tony's ridiculously gorgeous eyelashes. These two hit it off years ago and just picked up right away. Taylor has a way with the younger men. :)

Michael with his new Chipmunks sticker book from Scott and Lauri.

Nick had fun attacking various Christmas toys. It was hilarious!!

Oh my gosh, I've missed her so much! Love you, Lauri!

Looking at all of these updates (which don't even include a play date for Taylor, trying out Monster Trucks and other new outdoor toys in this awesome, mild weather, etc.) makes me realize that we've had a really busy break! The Hurricane have also been at it, winning the Clinton County Tournament for the seventh year in a row. Such a great group of young men. I'm proud of them, my hubby and all of the teams in past years who set the bar high. They get a few days off and will be back at it on Tuesday.

Seven-peat!

Have a Happy New Year!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas in the 'Burg

2011-12-31T12:17:00.002-05:00

Let me start off by saying that I was horrible about taking pictures in Pittsburgh this year! I was so busy visiting with the relatives I only see about twice a year, that I didn't even think to get my camera out much. As always, we had a great time. I come from a small family and Mike's is the opposite. Lots of wonderful aunts, uncles and cousins! It was also great seeing my mother-in-law, father-in-law and their spouses.

Michael playing with Zeyde Rich.

More presents!

The kids with Gpa N.

Benny.

Taylor and Michael with their great-aunt Linda. What a wonderful and loving woman!

And, more presents!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas Morning

2011-12-31T11:59:00.005-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, the kids are at a wonderful age for enjoying Christmas. They are old enough to understand the true meaning, can handle a little lack of sleep that comes with the holidays and are still young enough to embrace the "magic." We always spend Christmas morning at home, just the four of us (sorry Champy, five).

All ready to be ripped into!

Santa tries not to go crazy with gifts. A few games to share, and a few other presents each.

Taylor's favorite gift - bunk beds for her American Girl doll. (And note to parents: the Target AG knockoff line of doll furniture and clothes is adorable and costs about 1/3 of AG stuff.)

Michael's favorite gift - Football Guys. The set comes with 11 players for each team (and one team just happened to be black and gold), a referee, field and goal posts. The guys are kind of like army men. There are no batteries, lights, sounds or the like. It's all about imagination! It's the perfect gift for Michael because he stages imaginary football games all day long, every day. He uses crayons, stuffed animals, magnets, game pieces, anything.

Yep, he likes them!

Taylor with her new Monopoly DS game.

Annual Taylor/Mommy Christmas morning picture.

The boys.

Awwwwww

After cinnamon rolls, about an hour to play and a change of clothes, it was off to Pittsburgh!

Annual road trip car pictures:

Not amused, haha.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pre-Christmas Fun!

2011-12-31T11:31:00.003-05:00

Getting ready for Christmas this year was a lot of fun because the kids are at perfect ages to really soak it all in. We watched all of the Christmas shows, decorated together, drove around looking at Christmas lights, visited the nearby manger scene, etc., etc. Taylor didn't get out of school until December 22, but I still felt like we had time for lots of the fun stuff this year.

Michael and I visited Taylor's school on the last day for her "Writer's Celebration." Taylor loves to write and comes up with a new story, journal entry, play or something every day. It warms this writer's heart to see my little girl have the same love for writing.

One of Taylor's buddies.

That's Noah, one of Taylor's besties. They've gone to the same babysitter since they were babies and are now in the same class! Michael thinks Noah is pretty cool, too. :) The woman on the far left is Taylor's teacher, Mrs. Walker. She is wonderful!

Funny self portrait of the Pear and I. I'm wearing my cheesy snowflake sweater. I've had it for eight years and wear it at least once every Christmas season (usually to Taylor's school but kids seem to like it).

Taylor is a big fan of the show Cake Boss, so I thought it would be fun to decorate a gingerbread house this year instead of making cookies. Taylor told me it was "one of the funnest things she's every done." Michael showed zero interest (other than eating the candy). He is like his dad and not at all into crafty stuff. He'll sometimes paint or color, but always ends up turning the crayons into football players and staging a game.

I put on most of the icing, but Taylor did the decorating. Impressive!

Our plan on Christmas Eve was to go to mass then have my mom over for dinner and gifts. As we all know, things don't always go as planned. My mom ended up in the hospital with pneumonia! She is home and doing great now, but the poor thing had to be there over Christmas. I loaded up a few gifts, some semi-warm lasagna, salad and a pretty Christmas plate and glass and we celebrated Christmas Eve with her in the hospital. My brother and his four kids were there too. It was pretty insane, but I think everyone had a great time.

Cuties before mass.

Merry Christmas, Grandma! We love you!

Random picture of our tree that I just realized was at the end of my post. I'm too lazy to put it somewhere that actually makes sense.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas Card Photo Out-takes

2011-12-20T22:56:00.004-05:00

Last year, I pulled one of the smartest moves in my 30+ years and used a previously taken professional photo of the kids on our Christmas cards. I guess a year off from trying to stage a good shot allowed me to forget the pain and suffering involved when trying to get two young children to cooperate for a picture. They were two years older now, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

Wrong!

I love the picture we ended up with, but it wasn't easy getting there. Michael, ohhhhh Michael. Fidgeting, funny faces Michael. Taylor had her whiny moments, too, but usually turned on the smile, albeit fake in many pictures, at crunch time. I gave up after about 30 shots (as in pictures, not alcohol, which could have made it all a little less painful). The winning picture came many hours later after the kids took mercy on me.

I now present you with a small fraction of the out-takes:

My personal favorite.

Self-timer snafu. The attempt at a family shot lasted three frames before Mike - who has less patience than either of the kids - said bag this.

And the winner is:

Merry Christmas!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

The Pear is 4!

2011-12-20T14:09:00.006-05:00

Whoa - my little boy is 4! I've got to tell you, this kid is hilarious. His facial expressions and matter-of-fact statements keep me quite entertained these days. I love our mommy/Michael time together during the week. He's really growing up on me!

I haven't done Pear stats in a long time, but I think I will this year. Here goes:

Height: He hasn't been to the doctor yet, but I think he's around 42"
Weight: Total guess here, too. 36 pounds?
Clothing Size: 5T or 4/5 big boy
Favorite Food: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - just like his mommy when she was growing up! As a matter of fact, we still both eat them every day for lunch. :)
Favorite Drink: Milk
Favorite Toy: He loves to play pretend football with anything and everything - his animals, magnets from the refrigerator, crayons, etc. He also loves to play with the marble set, Legos, trains and basketball
Favorite Movie: Chipmunks "Chipwrecked"

Michael had quite a birthday weekend. On Friday, we skipped Daddy's game (a thrilling win at the buzzer at Kings!) to see the new Chipwrecked movie on opening night. Both kids loved it!

Michael, of course, loves Alvin.

Michael and Taylor before he opened presents from us.

Michael saw this penguin toy on TV and kept telling me he wanted the "Penguin Hooof Thing". I had no idea what he was talking about. From his gestures, I could tell it was something that spit out balls, so I Googled "Penguin Ball Mouth Shooter" and found it! He was thrilled!

He'd shoot them and Taylor would try and catch them.

You can imagine how this turned out. He shot himself in the noggin several times, but the balls are just Nerf and don't hurt.

My BIG boy and I! (And Champ, of course, who never leaves my side.)

Saturday was the big party. He was on cloud nine seeing so many family and friends. We love getting together with the people we love to show this sweet guy how much he means to us!

Michael and buddy Ben playing football in the floor.

These three played football most of the time. Taylor is such a tomboy sometimes, haha!
My sisters Angie and Kim. I was so happy to see them!

Michael wanted a Dora and Boots cake this year!

Make a wish! Thanks to Michael's Godmother, Michelle, for helping him out!

I think these two have lots of adventures ahead...

Present time!

Champ, Michelle, Reagan (so cute!!!) and Ben.

Mother in her awesome new coat.

Cute picture of Rich and Marilyn!

I'm off to play with my favorite 4 year old!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

A REAL Steelers Game

2011-12-05T22:12:00.006-05:00

A few days after the family attended a Steelers preseason game back in late August, Taylor figured out the game didn't really count in the standings. Since then, she has begged to go to a REAL Steelers game. I've been to many Steelers games in Heinz Field, and based on the number of drunkards, obnoxious fans and sheer volume of people, I thought this was a bad idea. But, the kid is so obsessed with Steelers football (and Michael is getting there, too), I caved.

We were up at 5 a.m. and on the road by 5:30 Sunday for the Steelers/Bengals game in Pittsburgh. This game was extra important for Taylor because almost all of her friends and teachers at school are big Bengals fans. (We are only 45 minutes from Cincy and our little town was once the site of the Bengals training camp.)

What better way to start the trip than with a baggie full of powered donuts?

Terrible towel - check; Steelers shirt and hat - check; donuts - check.

We got to see the sun rise about an hour and a half into our trip. Isn't it beautiful? We lucked out on the weather!

Passing time during the 4-hour drive.

Perhaps you are wondering why we left so insanely early for a game that didn't even start until 1 p.m. Well, Mike's friends have a pretty awesome tailgate that is a must before the game.

Chilly start to the tailgate, but a half hour later, the sun was out and the weather was perfect!

There were lots of games to keep the masses entertained - cornhole, some version of beer pong (Michael and I dominated in the only round I played) and some Right Left Center dice game that I hope Santa puts into my stocking! So much fun.

I told Taylor to have fun rolling the dice, but not write about this in her journal the next day at school. :)

The Pear letting them fly!

G-ma N stopped by and posed with Taylor.

They did this a lot. Just running around having the time of their lives.

High fives all around.

Michael blocking Uncle Steve while Taylor takes one to the cleaners.

I love this tailgating family picture!

I was really looking forward to the game, but was a little sad when it was time to pack up the tailgate and head over to the stadium. We really had a great time.

The kids literally walked miles and miles and never complained. I love that they are old enough to enjoy the things we enjoy!

Cute picture before we got frisked by security. :)

We made it! Our seats are in that endzone, but only about 12 rows up from the field. Michael looks a little distraught because he was mad that he couldn't turn around and watch the game.

Yay, Polamalu!

She watched every single down of the game this intently. I love this picture. She still looks like my little girl here.

Big Ben drops back.

It was nice to see that Santa could make the game. I'm glad the kids didn't freak out when he removed his beard to eat nachos.

Look at his little feet dangling. Precious. :)

Believe it or not, we made it home by 8:20 and even had time to watch the Amazing Race. We couldn't have asked for a better day. God certainly does take care of us!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

P.S. In case you were wondering, the Steelers dominated and won 35-7. They were up by so much that they pulled most of their starters by the start of the fourth quarter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-27T16:40:00.008-05:00

Although I've learned to adjust to both a little better in my old age, I've always hated cold weather and kind of hated running. So what better thing to do on Thanksgiving morning than run a 5K?

I've been running as my form of exercise pretty much every day since the middle of the summer. It gives me a good workout, it's quick, I can do it anywhere and I actually sort of enjoy it now. When my friend Jaime asked me if I wanted to run the local T-day race, I was a little hesitant. But, it's been a strange year after losing my dad and the holidays and birthdays just aren't the same. What better way to clear my head on Thanksgiving morning than run with the masses?

Jaime and I with our feathered friend before the race.

My longest run is typically 2.4 miles, the length of bike trail by our house. Up until Monday before the race, I hadn't run three miles since my last 5K, about 10 years prior! I knew the course was extremely hilly, so my goal was just to finish without stopping to walk at all. I did it! My time wasn't going to break any records (37 minutes), but I did pass quite a few runners. I had a little bit of gas left in the tank at the end, so I know I could have run faster, but I wanted to be sure I could meet my no-walking goal.

Good stride to the finish. :)

I had to get an after race shot. I drove myself over (Mike was still asleep when I left and the kids were watching the parade) so it's a self portrait. I was proud of myself. :)

This year was also the first year I handled all of the cooking duties. The casseroles, potatoes and stuffing different worry me - it was the turkey that had me leery! I rarely eat meat and never eat anything on the bone, so the thought of prepping the thing gave me the heebie jeebies. Honestly, it was as bad as I had imagined, haha, with the whole remove the neck and giblet bag issues. Ew, ew, ew. But, my mom and Mike said it was delicious so I guess it was worth it!

I had zero idea how to carve a turkey! That was always my dad's job, but I did my best. I think he'd be proud. :)

Part of the spread.

They liked drinking out of the fancy glasses (yes, they are Christmas glasses; give me a break ;) ).

Taylor and Mommy.

Taylor and MY Mommy!

Us! After a cold morning, it ended up being a pretty mild day.

We capped off the day by cleaning and playing Yahtzee. A great day!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Halloween '11

2011-11-07T22:57:00.006-05:00

Did October just fly by for you? I couldn't believe one day looking at the calendar and realizing that Halloween was just days away. The kids and I got to work on the pumpkins - they painted small pumpkins and drew the sketch for the face of the big guy, while I handled carving and cleaning out the guts. Taylor, bless her heart, helped me with the gutting despite being completely grossed out.

The finished products. No, your monitor isn't crooked, the pumpkin is. :)

I volunteered in Taylor's class for their Halloween party. The first grade teachers decided to do a playground treasure hunt instead of a traditional party and it was a hit. I got to write the clues and hide the treasure and had just as much fun as the kids.

We found our booty! All of these kids (and one who was absent) are in ONE class. Bless her teacher's heart. She's awesome.

The weather was perfect here this year for trick or treating and Mike and I joined our Wacko Fairy and Pirate for a stroll through the neighborhood. We live on a horseshoe-shaped street and get a ton of kids who live out in the nearby rural areas. I'm talking 400 kids! We always run out of candy.

Our annual Halloween picture.

Our former neighbors came back to the old stomping ground and joined us for trick or treating. They only live five minutes away, but we miss them!

Pirate Michael, Fairy Taylor and Firefighter Ben.

Can't forget cutie Reagan!

Michael was hilarious the whole night. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was wired. After every single house, he'd come running down the driveway, announcing what he'd gotten. "Mommy, I got another Starburst!" "Mommy, I got chocolate!"

Because what harm is little more sugar going to do at this point?

Making a candy necklace.

I remember savoring every piece of my Halloween candy over the next few months when I was a kid. I got rid of about half of each kid's loot, and dumped the rest into a big bowl. They have completely lost interest in it. Do your kids do that?

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

The Tooth Fairy Has Been Busy

2011-11-07T22:48:00.004-05:00

Taylor's two top front teeth have been loose for what seems like forever. I thought for sure they'd fall out over the summer, but nope. About three weeks ago, I noticed that those teeth had separated from the side teeth and moved forward. Still, they just wouldn't fall out. (I have to note that Taylor is not a wiggler. I think it kind of grosses her out!)

Finally, I convinced Taylor to let me work with one of them and voila! - I had a tooth in my hand.

It's hard to tell because of her bottom teeth, but one tooth was out. Also, notice Taylor's new earrings? She was sad when soccer ended, but that also meant she was allowed to get her ears pierced. :)

The one-tooth look was a funny one! She was a self-dubbed "Wacko Fairy" for Halloween and the smile just completed the costume.

The second tooth came out two days later. It's been a week and the new teeth are already dropping into place!

Hard to see the missing teeth here.

There we go! I think she looks darling. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Joanna, Awards & Soccer

2011-11-07T22:34:00.003-05:00

My birthday was on a Monday this year, kind of a forgettable fall day sandwiched between work, school and soccer. That is, until my dear friend and current San Francisco resident, Joanna, emailed the day before to tell me that she was in Columbus visiting her parents and wanted to stop by for my birthday. What a great surprise!

Notice the tasty treat? Joanna's made a special German dessert that was delicious!

Moving on to school...Taylor has had an excellent first quarter, finishing with the highest marks in all of her subjects. She just loves school and works hard. She makes us proud.

First quarter assembly certificate.

Soccer just came to an end, too. Taylor's team finished second in the league and earned a berth in the district tournament. They played a tough little team that had finished their regular season undefeated. Our girls played great and had a game-tying goal waved off after the whistle at the end of the third quarter that would have made it 3-3. The other team scored twice in the last quarter, but I was still proud of our girls. Taylor had assists on both of our goals.
Nice form!

Bundled up.
The girls before the big game.

Ready to attack.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Bonnybrook Farm '11

2011-11-07T22:06:00.005-05:00

For the second year in a row, Taylor's school organized a special discount day for its students and families. We were really impressed with the place last year and were excited to go back. We live in the country (well country folks would say we don't, but I grew up surrounded by interstates and factories, so it's country to me) so there are no shortages of pumpkin patches to visit. Bonnybrook is the best, in my mind.

Our annual picture in front of the wagon. Notice the summery attire. It was sunny and hot this year!

Michael's favorite - the little tub and fish hook game.

Taylor's favorite - the giant tunnel slide through the mountain.

It's not for the faint of heart!

We met up with some other school friends for the hayride (sans hay).

Cuties Ella, Taylor and Grace. Grace is Taylor's kindergarten teacher's daughter. They met for the first time after spending all last year drawing pictures for each other. She's a doll.

Ella and Taylor.

Another picture with Grace.

Can't forget the Pony Ride pictures.

I took this cute picture of the kids (all three) back at home when our ONE tree started to change colors.

Two more random pictures of Michael. We get a lot of quality time in when I'm finished working and Taylor is still at school. One of his favorite things to do is build train tracks. He's really good and can come up with some great designs without much help from me!

Michael, Red Dog and the track.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

OSU Game with Old Friends

2011-11-07T21:49:00.004-05:00

Last month, we got the chance to visit one of my best friends from college, Tony, and his ridiculously cute family for a Buckeye game. The outcome wasn't the best, but we all had a wonderful time and asked ourselves why we don't get together more often!

I wanted to do this post a long time ago, but this cute picture is the reason why I didn't.

Taylor and Gracie are just eight weeks apart and Carrie and I took a picture in this same pose, girls on our laps with the OSU blanket in the background, about seven years ago! I wanted to scan in the original for the full effect, but never got around to it. I'll edit this post someday because it's fun to see them side by side.

All of our kids being silly. Mia is about a year older than Michael and the four of them played together so well.

Cute little Buckeyes!

Our summer '04 girls. :)

I have some more catching up to do!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pictures

2011-10-01T11:10:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned before, I took lots of pictures in September with great intentions of blogging, but never got around to it. I'll try to group some together here.

Soccer

Taylor has really enjoyed playing soccer this year. Her team, the Yellow Jackets, are currently in second place and have a 2-2-2 record. Their only two losses are to her coach from last year. His daughter is crazy good for a seven year old! Taylor will be playing with them again in the spring. She plays SAY soccer right now, so coaches can't choose players, but the new team/league allows it.

I love how much she enjoys playing soccer. She plays every day, whether it be at practice, a game or in the back yard. She can't get enough!

She scored a goal in this game, but all I got were some warm-up photos! I'm a little lacking in photography skills.

Another important aspect of soccer. Snack! Taylor wanted me to make tie-dyed cupcakes with neon yellow icing (like their uniforms) when it was our turn.

Bike Trail

I feel so fortunate to have a cool bike/nature trail less than a mile from our house. The kids and I really enjoy hanging out there, looking for deer, collecting Buckeyes, throwing rocks into the creek, finding cool leaves and bugs, etc.

The Worm with a worm and the Pear with a caterpillar.

We threw rocks into the creek. - Written by Taylor, who is watching me write this post. :)

Puppet Shows

Mike scored an old book shelf from school a few years ago and it makes the perfect puppet theater. Taylor designed a set the other day and we all took turns putting on a show.

Other Stuff

These Imaginext guys and sports are Michael's favorite things right now. He also loves to do preschool worksheets and calls them his homework. We didn't do preschool this year, but he's doing great for his age. Knows almost all his letters (big and small), some sounds, shapes, colors, patterns, numbers, etc!

Little sassy here is about to lose her front teeth. I know she's going to look even more grown up when it happens!

One of the few times that the timer on the camera worked for us.

More tie-dyed cupcakes, these for Taylor's class party.

What a tie-dyed cupcake looks like inside.

Gotta run! We're off to our friends' house to watch the OSU game.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Great Job, Taylor!

2011-10-01T10:49:00.005-04:00

Taylor came home from school yesterday with some big news. She was named Student of the Month for her class, Star of the Week for her reading group (for which she received a super-girly plastic pink bracelet and matching ring) and received a positive behavior incentive for having a clean slate so far this year. The prize she chose? A chance to visit her kindergarten teacher at the end of the day Monday. :) What a day! Not to mention, she had gym, her very favorite part of the school week.

Mike and I decided that after such a good start this year, we should do something to reward the Worm, too. Her reward? A trip to the store to pick out two new fish!

Introducing Pinky and Violet! After one day, we've already decided that the bowl is too small. We'll be exchanging it for something bigger today.

Michael loves the new fish, too.

We've been busy with school, soccer, Mike and I trying to get our own workouts in and work. I guess that's obvious by the fact that I pulled on 0-fer on posts in September. Oops!

A couple of cute pictures before we left for a birthday party for three of Taylor's friends. It was a bowling alley and Michael got to come along since Mike was at the Steelers game.

Taylor had a blast picking out presents for three seven year olds (two are twins) and her 5-year-old cousin Abby whose party was later that day.

I have a lot of pictures I've uploaded but never posted. I'll throw them all into a miscellaneous post later.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

First Steelers Game

2011-08-28T21:49:00.009-04:00

There are a few firsts that you'll never forget your kids experiencing - first steps, first tooth, first smile, first day of school. We have another to add to the list (and one that Mike might rank right up there at the top) - first Steelers game!

Mike has Steelers season tickets (yes, despite the fact that we live four hours from Pittsburgh) and thought it would be fun to take the kids to a Steelers preseason game. Now, I think there's a reason that Steelers fans have been voted the worst/most dedicated fans in the NFL. Things can get downright ugly amongst the Black and Gold nation. But, the fact that the game didn't really count in the W/L columns, I figured we'd be safe. The kids were absolutely thrilled with the chance to go!

Let's get this show on the road!

Taylor shared her iPod. Yes, she has an iPod. No, I do not.

We started by stopping at Mike's usual game-day tailgate. What's football without tailgating, right? The tailgate is organized by Mike's aunt's brother-in-law, Rick. (Side note: Mike's aunt is actually only a couple of years older, so we're all about the same age.) Rick is a fun guy and knows how to do it right. Even though this is just preseason, he brought the grill, tons of food, beer and good music. We brought our cornhole boards, so we were all set.

Ready to tailgate!

She is so competitive and had her game face on during the girls vs. boys cornhole game.

Michael prefers the overhand toss.

Michael was NOT happy about losing to the girls in a close game. Mike had to pull him aside and calm him down.

Somebody sulking in the 4Runner.

After a few minutes with new buddy, Dave (a tailgate regular) and he was all smiles again.

They had so much fun!

She's going to be an expert tailgater by the time she's a teenager.

Some of us - yours truly (I'm in desperate need of a haircut), Mike, Dave and Rick.

Michael dancing to "Renegade" or some other tailgate-worthy music.

Mike's mom stopped by with her husband Rich!

Doing a height check. At 7, Taylor has made it to G-ma N's shoulders!

We walked over to Heinz Field and got to our seats in the endzone just in time to see the Steelers score on their first series. The kids went nuts, waving their Terrible Towels. How lucky were they that their first NFL touchdown happened basically right in front of them?

Yay - we made it!

She has the towel waving thing down pat.

Oh my gosh, she was so excited!

He was literally awestruck the first 30 minutes of the game - eyes wide and smiling!

The boys!

The girls!

A family favorite - Troy Polamalu, aka "FWOOM"!

Mike was a trooper and drove the entire way home. The kids got on their jammies in the parking lot and slept the entire way. We had a wonderful time together as a family. Definitely one of the highlights of our summer!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

The 1st Day of 1st Grade

2011-08-18T14:41:00.005-04:00

Taylor's first day of 1st grade was Wednesday, something she's been looking forward to for the last few weeks. She couldn't wait to get back to her friends and favorite teachers.

Her teacher this year is Mrs. Walker. She didn't know a lot about her, but realized she kind of looks like her uber sweet preschool teacher, Mrs. Washburn, which convinced her that Mrs. Walker will also be a keeper. She does seem really nice and has been at this for awhile, so I think it will be a great year! Taylor is also excited that some of her best friends are in her class. Her awesome kindergarten teacher might have had a hand in that. :)

Traditional first day of school picture with Michael. I had to work in the office Wednesday, so it was also Michael's first day of Susan's for the year. Taylor convinced him that he needed to wear a backpack. Of course, she's too cool to wear hers in pictures these days.

Posing in the blinding morning sun.

Gotta love his bedhead and tired eyes. :)

Back inside, saying good-bye to Champy.

They fight all of the time, but they were sad to spend the day apart.

So excited.

According to the Worm, it was a great week. I'm so happy that she loves school!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Kings Island '11

2011-08-13T14:09:00.008-04:00

More proof that I'm getting old. We spent 7 1/2 hours walking around Kings Island on Friday and I was so tired that I was ready to go to bed at 8:30 when we got home. The kids? Oh, they were running around in the front yard with their friends and almost cried when I made them come in an hour later.

Yes, we took our annual Kings Island trip just before school starts on Wednesday (Monday for Mike). We had a ton of fun this year. Mike's friend Nick was in town with his daughter and niece so they spent the night here Thursday then followed us down to KI.

Yay! Kings Island!

Stop taking pictures so we can actually go in...

Us with friends!

One part that is new this year is "Dinosaurs Alive". It's an area with giant, life-size robotic dinosaurs and costs an extra $5 per person. I almost said forget it, but got the tickets online at the last minute. It was soooo cool! I was expecting 10 or so dinosaurs, but there were probably over 100 featured over a long winding trail through the woods. The kids were totally impressed and I still think Michael isn't 100% convinced they weren't real.

Look out guys, there's a T-Rex behind you...

They liked this cute Triceratops.

They still prefer the kid-themed part of the park but did ride some bigger rides. It was fun for us because that meant we actually got to ride more rides this year!

It wasn't very crowded. Lines were short!

Michael faking an attitude. This makes me laugh.

Riding the kiddie coaster.

This whip ride is one of their favorites every year.

She convinced Michael to keep his arms up. :)

Cutie.

The kid area is Snoopy-themed. I love Snoopy!

A much-needed ice cream break in the shade.

I take this picture every year at Kings Island. She's growing up on us. She's up past his elbow now.

2010

2009

2008

Somebody else got a picture with Daddy this year, too.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Catching Up - Yankees at Reds

2011-08-08T22:29:00.005-04:00

When it comes to Major League Baseball, we are a house divided. I grew up in Cincinnati during the Big Red Machine days, so I'm obviously a Reds fan. Mike has always been a Yankees fan. I actually like the Yankees, too, and since our teams are in different leagues, I can usually cheer for both.

But, when it comes to interleague play, I'm all Cincy, baby.

When the Yankees came to town in late June, we just had to catch a game. Taylor, like usual, wants to be like Mom and cheers for the Reds. Michael started out the day cheering hard for the "Weds".

That was until the "Weds" gave up four runs in the first inning and the little stinker turned on us. "Let's go, Ankees!" was his cheer the rest of the game.

The Reds made it interesting and made it 5-3 in the ninth with the tying run at the plate. Taylor was soooo nervous that she could barely watch. Sorry Worm, the boys won this time!

Playing outside the stadium.

He was still cheering for the Reds at this point.

The boys watching batting practice.

The annual cotton candy baseball game photo. :)

The Pear got one too this time and HATED it.

Taylor fearing the inevitable.

Thanks to Mike and eBay, we had great seats. I'm a pretty low maintenance person (if you hadn't guessed by my hair, makeup, attire in most pictures), but I'm spoiled when it comes to sporting seats. Years and years sitting on media row mean I never want to sit in bad seats again. Our seats were right behind home plate. We had padded seats, access to a private scout area and a waitress. It rocked.

The four of us in the cool scout area.

What team do you cheer for?

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Catching Up - Mother's Day & End of School

2011-08-08T22:21:00.003-04:00

Yes, Mother's Day. Cut me some slack, I'm catching up. :)

The kids and Mike (and Champy) surprised me on Mother's Day with a pretty potted plant and cards. After we got cleaned up, we went down to Cincy to see my mom and dad. I know we went shopping after that, but I can't remember much else. Ah, the perils of blogging three months after the fact!

The kids and my new plant.

Can't forget my Champy! And, sorry Champ. We took two pictures and I look better in this one, so I'm posting the funny one of you!

Taylor had an excellent year in kindergarten. She is reading well above level, completely embraced the all-day school format and excelled in so many areas. Her teacher, Mrs. Adams, is wonderful. She's sweet, smart and takes no crap! I love that combination.

I got to chaperone the kids on a trip to a nearby ice cream shop, Peppermint Patti's. Taylor is wearing her soccer stuff because it was U-Uniform Day.

Yum!

I couldn't leave Michael out. He got ice cream that day, too. :)

Taylor with her end-of-the-year research project on Kangaroos. She really impresses me sometimes!

Taylor and Mrs. Adams on the last day of school.

One year down, lots to go!

Cute random picture of the kids after playing in a late spring rainstorm.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Catching Up - Easter

2011-08-08T21:49:00.004-04:00

An Easter post in August?? Pathetic, I know. I wasn't doing great with blogging in the spring as it was, but after my dad got sick, I just stopped completely. I was still taking pictures, though. I just wasn't doing anything with them.

My parents came up to my house on Easter for lunch and an egg hunt. I remember saying some really nice things to my dad that day, thanking him for always being there for me. I had no idea he was sick, at least consciously.

This is the last picture I took of my dad. I almost didn't post it because now I realize that he already looked pretty sick. But, he looks like he's having so much fun with the grandkids (and granddog) that I think it needs to be here. Hard to believe he passed away six weeks later. Gosh, I miss him.

Here are some other pictures from that day. I'm having trouble moving things around in Blogger, so they might be out of order. I remember that we all had fun that day. My dad loved my deviled eggs and even asked how I made them. :)

Two pretty ladies.

Attempt at a family picture.

Kiddos and I. Mike was much too focused on the candy from the eggs to bother with the camera.

Mother.

Dying Easter eggs the week before (told you these are out of order!).

My Easter cuties. They look alike here!

Until next time (which will be soon!),

Mommy Kel

Taylor's 7th Birthday Bash!

2011-07-03T14:47:00.008-04:00

Since Taylor's birthday is on July 4th, we always have her kid party a few days before. I don't want to be "that" parent who schedule a party on a holiday! Taylor is fine with it, because she usually ends up with an extended party that way.

This year, she wanted to have her party at the pool, which was fine and dandy with me because that meant: no cleaning before, cheap (members obviously get in free and most of her friends are members) and no cleanup after. Can't beat that! We're seven for seven on rain-free birthdays now. I was a little worried that morning when it was pouring, but the storm was long gone by the time the party started. It did scare everyone else away, though. We literally had the entire swim club to ourselves!

Taylor with some of her first guests to arrive. The older girl is her friend's older sister. She is so sweet to Taylor and even came to her party. :)

Taylor and another pool buddy.

Michael loves his squirt gun!

Pizza and Doritos. Does it get any better?

Taylor is eating broccoli, haha..

Blow out your candles! The bakery didn't have pieces for the Tangled cake, so I had them decorate the cake and I bought and added the pieces.

Pinata time! Taylor doesn't even like Hannah Montana, but that and Transformers were the only options we had.

Michael is actually the one that broke the pinata in two. It was so cute how Taylor and her friends cheered for him.

I love this picture!

Taylor has several goals this summer: 1) Lose her top front teeth 2) Take the training wheels off her bike (the training wheels don't even touch when she's riding now, but she can't get over the fear) 3) Visit the local landfill (yes, really) and 4) Go off the diving board by herself at the pool. She can check No. 4 off her list now! She went off the board into an instructor's arms during swim lessons, but finally made the plunge solo on Saturday at her party. I think it helped that the lifeguard was sweet enough to get in the water with her rescue float when Taylor went off the first time. Her friends went crazy cheering for her. Now, I can't keep her off the board! Today, she spent our entire two hours at the pool jumping off the board.

Next was present time!

Some of the adults.

Michael on Daddy's lap.

Here are a few pictures today of my little girl on her last day as a 6-year-old.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pops

2011-06-06T15:16:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time since I've posted, I know. My heart has been too heavy to write about what's been making it that way and my mind too preoccupied to write about much else.

Let me tell you about pretty much the most awesome person I know. My dad has always been my hero, my idea of what's good, what's right and just how a person should be. It sounds cliché, but ask a thousand people that he knows and I guarantee not one will have a bad word to say about him. I recently thought hard to come up with one time in my 37 1/2 years that I was even a little miffed at him. My brother and I used to set up a rickety old picnic bench in our driveway – aka our basketball court – from which we would launch ourselves into thundering slam dunks. Uh, not safe and he finally put the kibosh on it, much to the Mole and I's dismay. That's it. That's the one time.

My dad worked outside in a roofing supply yard for much of my life. He usually worked with guys that weren't even half his age and amazed them with his strength and work ethic. He was not one to deliver philosophic phrases – he preferred advice like "Don't step in any dry mud holes" and "Don't kill any dead snakes" – but influenced those around him with his actions. He turned 70 in December, but still worked five, sometimes six, days per week, loading and unloading trucks in whatever elements Mother Nature decided to throw at us. He never complained but would admit sometimes how brutal working in the cold was when I asked. He worked up until the Friday before the Monday doctor's appointment that he finally let me schedule after the pain in his side became so bad. When making the appointment, my dad asked me to make it after 5 so he put in a day's work first, slinging around 90-lb. bundles of shingles. His work ethic was incredible and I can only hope to carry on the way he showed me was right.

I worked as a caddie at a golf course in high school, which meant I was usually up before the sun most summer mornings. Dad was always up too and I smile thinking about those early, early morning conversations we'd have as he drove me to the course. When I got home after a long, hot day on the links, he'd quip, "How much did we make?" He could always make me laugh.

My dad also made my lunch every day throughout my high school days. A little ridiculous that a teenager couldn't make her own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (it was always PB&J)? Probably, but it was something special I didn't want to give up. I thought of Pops – my favorite nickname for him – today when I ate a peanut butter and sandwich with the kids. Good, but something was missing.

What a grandpa, too! Taylor and Michael adored their grandpa and would just run to him when we got to his house. He'd make trips up here to see them, too. Just a few weeks before he was diagnosed, he made the 45-minute drive up to our town after work to see Taylor play soccer. She was so happy that she had scored a goal for Grandpa. I still think the bag of Smarties he gave her on her birthday last year was one of her favorite gifts. Michael would just light up around Grandpa, too, walking around in one of his oversized hats, saying in a deep voice, "Hi, I'm Grandpa." I'm so happy they got to know the man that their Mommy loves so much.

I'm glad he didn't have to suffer very long, with his life here on Earth ending less than a month after his cancer diagnosis. My dad never, ever showed pain and to see him hurting was the hardest thing I've ever experienced in my life. He's in a much better place now, but I can't help but feel a little lost. I hope when he looks down on me from Heaven that I make him proud. I have always been and will always be proud of you, Pops. Thank you for everything.

Garland Thomas "Tom" Taylor
12/2/40 – 6/6/11

Spring Break '11 - Part Four

2011-04-10T12:58:00.008-04:00

Sorry it took me awhile to get to part four. I'm coaching Taylor's soccer team this spring and have had something soccer-related each of the last four nights. Taylor has played well - scored two goals in her first two games. She loves it! Okay, back to Florida. I wish. Let's just pretend. :)

As I mentioned, we had a boatload of fun on the beach. Our last afternoon there, we spent hours digging holes, making sand castles and boogie boarding. Actually, I was the only one boogie boarding; just an awesome feeling! Mike wouldn't try it, but let me tell you, it's a great time. The Gulf tide was higher than usual, perfect for riding the waves.

Taylor with some of our creations.

Our sand dungeon - Michael brought his little Imaginext guys down and they were the perfect props.

I kind of want to kiss the screen when I see this. Love the beach.

Wave hoppin'

Timed that one right!

Taking a break in the shade.

Mini me. :)

My little doll.

The kids found a big hole that someone had dug and spent a good hour jumping into it. It was pretty cute to watch. I even caught some high school girls taking pictures on them with their cell phones.

Yay - hole!

He screamed "Cannonball!" every time he jumped.

The only creepy thing about the beach? Jellyfish! I saw tons of them during my morning walks. Most were the harmless little clear ones, but I did see some whoppers. The were usually all washed back into the water by late morning so I brought one back to the condo for the kids to see.

In case you are wondering, yes, my fingers did get a little numb after picking up this beauty.

Some of my finds one morning.

Feel kind of bad for the jellyfish? Don't. One of its buddies got me in the shoulder later that day.

We ate at Captain Dave's our last night. Another fantastic view!

We loaded up the next morning at 6:30 and headed home. Fine driving by the hubs got us home by 7 p.m.!

Bye Florida!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spring Break '11 - Part Three

2011-04-10T12:50:00.007-04:00

The kids were on their best behavior during vacation and acted like the best of friends. They seemed to truly each other and stuck together like glue. The condo had three bedrooms, but one tiny room had bunk beds and a wall-mounted DVD player. Well, the kids thought that was the greatest thing ever! To my amazement, they crammed in that little room every night and slept great.

Watching a video before bed.

Taylor had the procedure for changing DVDs down pat.

I've never seen them voluntarily spend so much time in bed, haha.

Hanging out up top.

Bedtime snack

I walked in after a long day at the pool to see this one day. How cute!

Playing cards together - War!

Buddies at the pool.

Our cute condo.

My favorite dinner out was a Pompano Joe's, right on the beach. The crabcakes were deeee-lish!

All cleaned up, cute and ready to rock.

"I'll just play Taylor's video game while you take for-ever getting ready, Mommy."

Cute family shot at the restaurant. This is the only night I bothered to fix my hair and the wind was so strong that it just knocked the bajeezus out of it.

Our view from the restaurant.

We were only five minutes from outlet malls. Even the play areas there were way fun for the kids.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spring Break '11 - Part Two

2011-04-10T12:42:00.010-04:00

There wasn't much sleeping in on Spring Break. We were usually up with the sun so the kids could play in the condo and Mike and I could take turns working out. A few days, I swamped a long walk on the beach for time in the exercise room. Man, I could so live where it's warm all year!

What's in store today, Mom?

Loading up on morning java.

We love Destin!

Michael loved playing in the sand, but would not get near the water. He'd scream whenever the waves would creep up and catch him.

Taylor was all about the sand, sun and surf. Most definitely her mother's daughter!

Michael loved the pool, just like his dear old dad.

Tuesday was forecasted to be a cooler day, sunny but only reaching about 65 degrees. We decided that would be the perfect day to go on a dolphin cruise in the Gulf and harbor. We got a deal there, too, a buy-one-get-one-free ticket for booking through our resort. The ride was two hours long and a great time. We saw dozens of dolphins and the kids were just amazed.

Ready to see some dolphins!

Taylor couldn't wait to wear her new rhinestone dolphin shirt.

Ready to board!

Thanks, Taylor. :)

This boat was once FDR's, according to our cute little captain.

The kids were given popcorn to feed the seagulls. The seagulls would take the food right out of your hand. I love animals, but it creeped me out and I was surprised when I couldn't do it!

Uh, maybe this is why.

Hey look - dolphins! I took a ton of pictures, but they all look like this. I never did get a picture of their cute little faces!

A turn at the wheel. The captain and crew were so sweet.

I think sweet Taylor won him over.

After lunch, the winds shifted and we were back to warm weather. The kids and I headed to the beach and stopped for a little frozen refreshment.

This picture makes me happy and makes me miss the beach already.

The day we thought would be a little bit of a wash ended up being wonderful! Mike joined us on the beach and we relaxed until almost sundown. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spring Break '11 - Part 1

2011-04-10T12:06:00.009-04:00

We're back! Instead of traveling all of the way down to the middle of Florida this year for spring break, we decided to try to the panhandle this year. Three or four hours doesn't seem like a big difference when you are traveling, but it actually makes a huge difference. So, we loaded up on Friday and left the house at 5:15 a.m.

Michael navigating through Alabama.

Taylor getting a little delirious after 10 hours of sitting in the car.

Noooo, I'm not tired at all...

Our excellent driver. Trooper handled all 12.5 hours each way!

Comfy?

Finally made it to our cute condo.

Let me just say now how much easier it was traveling this year. No playpens, diapers, swim diapers or strollers. The kids were content playing in the back seat, watching their DVDs and playing video games. Yay, it's finally getting easy to travel!

Our condo was right on Miramar Beach in Destin. The beach was absolutely gorgeous! I've traveled all over Florida and visited both coasts, and Miramar Beach was the best by far (second only to Hawaii and really, what can compete with paradise?). I guess there is a reason the area is called the Emerald Coast. I'm a big beach person, so I was thrilled when I saw what was waiting for us.

Ready for the beach.

First look at the beach.

Modeling this year's swim trunks and sunglasses.

Looking for shells

We love it! Good-bye cold, yucky winter!

Can't do this in Wilmington!

The air temperature was in the 70s most of the week, but the Gulf water was so warm. I was proud of Taylor for getting in and jumping in the waves with me.

Since we had our own kitchen in the condo, we cooked and ate almost all of our meals there. Being the true tightwad that I am, I'm always proud of how much save while on our vacations.

Michael and his buddy Red Dog. We were on the first floor so we had a little patio and yard to play in.

We stayed for an entire week this year and paid very little (in my opinion). We did venture out for some fun a few nights. We hit up the local go-kart track for some fun. Taylor and I beat the boys on a really fun and fast race track. So much fun! The kids also tried out some rides.

More coming up later, including our trip on a dolphin cruise!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Under the Big Top

2011-03-21T21:32:00.003-04:00

We like circuses around here. The kids stage a homemade circus at least a few times a year, even though they had never been. Grandma scored big points when she picked up Barnum and Bailey tickets for the kids and I!

Taylor modeling the free hat that came with the $12 cotton candy. No, really. $12.

Hahahaha

Taylor and Grandma.

The kiddos and I. Gotta love how I'm holding a very squirmy Michael up. This was before the show started. They were so good!

In addition to the $12 cotton candy, the kids scored these cute snow cone cups (all compliments of G-ma).

We tried so hard to get a picture of the four of us. After a dozen failures, we went with silly faces. This is by far my favorite!!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

Saturday was also Taylor's last basketball game. She became quite the little player! She scored four points and played great defense in her last game. It's so fun watching her dribble in and score.

After game snacks!

Taylor's kindergarten class was supposed to have a nature hike/frog walk at a nearby lake on Friday. The kids were so excited and were ready to sport their rain boots and hit the trails. Once we met at the school, the organizer canceled because of lightening. We ended up at Taylor's friends house for a play date, so sadness was short-lived.

Sooooo cute!

I never got around to posting these pictures from the Winter Sports Banquet.

Us in a gym. Imagine that.

This is Brady, Mike's only senior and one of the kids' favorites.

Off to do some freelance work!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Senior Night

2011-02-25T22:52:00.004-05:00

If you follow my blog, you are probably familiar with our tradition of dressing the kids in homemade shirts for Senior Night. I started doing it back when Taylor was just seven months old and have continued every year since. (For past years' photos, click here.)

Mike has just one senior this year, a tough-nosed, hard-working kid named Brady. He'll be the first to take a charge and battles with the big boys underneath, even though he's undersized. My kids love him.

Four of my dear college friends came into town for the game. TA and Watson drove up from Cincy and Corey and Rob drove down from Columbus. We're right in the middle of the two cities, so it's a great meeting point. I was on a golf caddie scholarship in college, so most of my college friends are guys. They are like brothers to me and I cherish our friendships to this day!

Rob, me, Corey, Watson and TA.

Quarterly self portrait. :)

The weather has been nuts, but I'm not complaining because we've actually had a few warm days mixed in. One day we're outside in spring jackets and the next day it snows. It won't be long now, though.

Yay - warm weather!

Yay!

Yay! She actually likes playing football, too. :)

Yay!

Yay!

Boo. Literally the next day.

I've been freelance writing from home the last month or so and get to take Taylor to school every day. We've started a new tradition of getting donuts on Fridays before school. I'm a big anti-donut freak and refuse to buy them otherwise, so the kids eat it up.

Our favorite former neighbors were blessed with their second little one this month! Congrats to Jason, Michelle and big bro Ben!

Baby Reagan looks tiny on dad.

A couple more cute pictures of the Worm and the Pear:

Michael with some of his favorite friends. Notice the blue blanket. It rarely leaves his side.

6 going on 16.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

6 Years and 2 Months Later...

2011-02-10T11:37:00.005-05:00

No, not 6 years and 2 months since my last blog post, although it has gotten embarrassingly long between posts this winter.

Taylor finally lost her first tooth! I thought for sure she'd lose her teeth early because she got them pretty early. Her first baby tooth popped through in December '04 and she had 12 teeth by her first birthday! She also knocked her top two teeth on our neighbor's coffee table when she was 2 and they almost fell out then. Those two teeth turned a tiny bit discolored but are still hanging in there to this day.

The tooth she lost has been loose since before Christmas, but she is not a wiggler. I "accidently" bumped in while helping her brush her back teeth last night and it was basically just hanging there. It fell out this morning in her cinnamon toast.

Because you really needed to see this, right?

Besides losing teeth, not much else is new around here. We watched our Steelers in the Super Bowl Sunday. Good effort boys, but just not enough. The gang prepared for the big game by:

Getting in some tackling practice.

Baking a Steelers cake...

Doing our best No. 1 poses...

Looking cute in our black and gold...

Sharing the Polamalu jersey. He is mine and the kids' favorite...

Watching Steelers videos on You Tube...

Basketball season is winding down for Mike. We just try to survive basketball season, but this year has been a lot more fun now that the kids are older.

We enjoy watching Taylor in her basketball games.

We have silly dance parties.

We do Valentine's crafts.

We hang out with our best buddy.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Dog-gone It!

2011-01-30T21:37:00.004-05:00

Once again, I've gone way too long between posts. We've been really boring lately!

Anyone who follows this blog knows how much Taylor loves dogs. We have an awesome 8 1/2-year-old yellow lab, Champ, but Taylor has been begging for a puppy to join our clan. I told her maybe for her 7th birthday, but I spotted a pooch on Petfinder that was being housed at our local humane society that looked perfect! She is a beagle mix (Taylor loves beagles) and the staff assured me that she was sweet and not aggressive at all with people or the other dogs. I let the kids meet her and we decided to bring her home.

This is how I survive being how alone with the kids almost every night during basketball season. ;) They loved trying out the pup's new cage!

The tables are turned! This was a funny idea until I tried to get out! 72" in a 36" long cage is just not good.

We love our Champy!

We picked up "Amber" the next morning and the kids and I were just so excited. We let her check out the house before introducing Champ and everything went great. Amber was as sweet as could be with us, but it was obvious as the day went on that she was not a fan of Champ. Our Champy is the sweetest, most docile dog you'd ever meet. He wouldn't hurt a fly and Amber just tore into him every time he came near me. We tried all kinds of different things, but Champ was absolutely miserable and heartbroken and we knew that Amber would have to go back to the shelter. It made me so sad and I cried as we left her there. :( It's a no-kill shelter and I hope she finds a great home!

Is she not adorable?

It's been over two weeks since we took her back and I think I was just too sad to blog about it until now. I couldn't upload the pictures until this weekend!

In other news, Taylor had strep throat that was misdiagnosed (not by our usual doctor) and drug on for an entire week. Luckily, the sickness coincided with a boatload of snow days so she only missed 1/2 day of school. She had her first basketball game yesterday and got the defense award. Daddy was way proud.

Michael is just hilarious. He limped into the kitchen today holding his leg. "I getting old," he said sadly. The kid is full of personality!

One of a kind.

This winter has been brutal, but it finally got above 30 degrees today (and sunny!!) so we ventured outside. Champy got a walk, we made a snow polar bear and Taylor got to play with her buddy down the street. Good times!

Working together. The top layer of the snow was so icy that we had to pack the snow on instead of rolling it.

The Worm and the bear.

He had so much fun until his gloves got wet. Then, he was like, "Bag this."

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Things We Do To Avoid Going Insane During the Winter

2011-01-10T13:54:00.009-05:00

I really don't enjoy winter much. I love to be outside and during the winter, that's almost impossible, especially with small children and a basketball coach husband that's never home November - March. We do our best to stay entertained by:

Going to the library:

Taylor loves to read and to be read to! She reads stories to Michael almost every day.

By going to Daddy's basketball games:

By going to our own basketball games/practices:

Taylor started Upward basketball this year. Only practices so far, but she likes it!

The gym is so dark. I'll never get a good picture this year!

By playing in the snow:

The kids went sledding for the first time (other than the teeny hill in our front yard) and we all had a blast! There's a big hill by our library. It was cold, but just what we needed to break up some grouchy cooped-up cabin fever moods (mine included).

They were so cute going down together.

View from the top...

...and the bottom. It's no sissy hill!

Our attempt at a group shot. It's so off center that it makes me laugh!

Kiddos

Weeeeeeee!

Michael took a break from our "slope" to hit the slides.

Winter cuties!

By getting warm and comfy:

And snuggling with friends in cuddly jammies:

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas Day

2011-01-01T19:52:00.009-05:00

Let's see - I left off after Santa presents. We quickly showered while the kids played, tried to clean up the house a little and hit the road for Pittsburgh.

Annual in-the-car-pictures:

We made our first stop at my mother-in-laws house. There we visited with Mike's three siblings, his niece, Kayla, and his mom and step dad. The kids opened some presents and we had a lovely dinner prepared by Marilyn.

Taylor and Aunt Katy.

Michael and Uncle Pat.

Taylor with her American Girl dog from Gma N.

Michael has had so much fun with this racetrack!

Next, we were off to Mike's Aunt's house for the annual Christmas gathering. Everyone gets together and it's always such a good time.

The kids with Aunt Ginny.

Cousins Emily and Brittany.

Mike and Benny.

Mike and a beer.

Big brother/little sister love. Amy and Danny hug it up after some White Elephant exchange teasing.

Michael won this purse in the exchange and loved it, haha. It was a short-lived love, though. Somebody stole it a few minutes later and he didn't care.

Aunt Linda and Aunt Katy.

Cutie.

Cousins Lauren, Cassidy and Matt. These kids were Taylor and Michael's ages when I met them!

Boys watching basketball.

Aunt Maureen, Gma and Taylor.

Pretty sisters!

Annual cousins picture in the foyer.

Siblings (minus Bryony), the kids and I.

My camera battery died, but we had some more fun adventures the next day. Swimming in the hotel pool, dinner at Gma's and a cold but super-fun trip up the Pittsburgh incline!

Once we got home, it was like Christmas morning all over again for the kids. Presents were assembled and the fun began. The kids were occupied enough for me to take down all decorations and tree and catch up on laundry (Mike was at bball practice).

How cool is this? I'm proud to say I assembled it by myself. :)

Michael showing off the boo boo he got the day after Christmas.

Taylor making her first masterpiece in the Easy Bake Oven.

Ahhhh, my clean, open living room, minus all Christmas decorations! I missed it!

This guy was happy to see us home, too!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning

2011-01-01T13:01:00.008-05:00

Since we don't live in the same town as either one of our families, we do a lot of running around during the holidays. In the past, we've gone to the Christmas Eve 3 p.m. Mass, then rushed down to Cincinnati to have dinner with my family.

This year, I decided to host Christmas Eve dinner. Wow, it was so nice and relaxing! I think this is going to be a new tradition. My parents came up after we got home from church, I made lasagna and goodies and we all just enjoyed each other!

My reindeer and tree cake pops. Hard work, but they came out so cute!

Us after Christmas Eve mass. It was longer than normal, it was super crowded and hot, but the kids were so good.

Taylor and Lanie Bear. I'm glad Taylor isn't too grown up for stuffed animals yet. :) You might recognize this dress from last year. It was too big last year, but looked adorable this year!

I really enjoyed making dinner and decorating for the family.

After dinner, we opened presents. The kids were spoiled by my parents, as usual. Michael got a cool Imaginext Dragon Castle that he picked out in the Fisher Price catalog and Taylor got the Barbie Dream Town House. She's asked for it for awhile now, but I refused to buy it. My mom couldn't resist this year! It's HUGE and darling.

He's been playing with this Dragon castle non-stop since Christmas! (Michael, not Mike.)

Taylor had the opportunity to shop for gifts at her school's Santa Store this year and I think she enjoyed watching everyone open her presents more than opening her own!

She was thrilled to give this angel candle to Grandma. She was so proud of her choice. Awwww.

My mom couldn't resist getting the Barbie car, too.

The fun task of getting the toys out of the packages...

He was soooo much fun this year!

My cute new sweater.

After seeing my parents off, we got ready for Santa. Pajamas, then cookies and milk; then, Taylor did the sweetest thing ever. She got a repeat gift from my mom and I told her we could take it back and get a different Barbie. Instead, she decided that she'd leave it out for Santa to pick up and take to "a little girl whose parents can't afford Christmas presents." It just touched my heart and made me so proud that through the whirlwind of presents and goodies, she understands what Christmas is really all about.

Then, Santa came!

I love sleepy eyes on Christmas morning. :)

He loved this pony.

Annual Christmas morning Mom/daughter picture.

What did you get, Daddy?

Sweet new sweatshirt.

Ack, the mess!

Champ got a new Christmas bed and bone. :)

After cleaning up a little, we headed to our next destination - Christmas Day in Pittsburgh! Check back later for more.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

It's Almost Here!

2010-12-23T23:53:00.006-05:00

Isn't Christmas time so much fun? Family, friends, giving, worshiping and the whole magic of the season - I love, love, love it! The hectic shopping, materialism and snow, uh, suck, but I've found that I can avoid them for the most part (the first two anyway).

In the past week, we've baked, decorated, visited Santa, had a Christmas gathering with friends and baked some more. So much fun! Having kids just makes it all that much better.

I've never been a "see-Santa-at-the-mall" kind of person. I actually kind of hate the mall in general and avoid it like the plague during the holidays. Taylor really wanted to go this year, so we headed out last Sunday morning.

It was as nuts as I imagined. The kids were good, but we had nearly TWO HOURS to kill before we got to see the big guy (1:15 on the wait list and 45 minutes in line). When we finally made it to the front of the line, their reactions were priceless. They loved him and I was sucked into buying the $15 photo.

In front of the tree before we left.

We've done a little baking the last few days, too. First it was sugar cookies, which was easy for everyone to participate.

Taylor's pink Christmas castle.

Some of our creations. Look at all of the icing and sprinkles on some of them! I just let the kids decorate them however they wanted.

We also made cake pops! Sugar cookie preparation is kid friendly...cake pops, not so much! Taylor wanted so badly to help, but it's a long, pretty precise process that even I flub quite a bit. The results are so cute, though!

It's okay if I can't help, Mom. I can still eat them, right?

On Wednesday night, we met up with our friends/former neighbors for the kids' gift exchange. I miss our neighbors and the kids had so much playing.

Next year, Ben's little sister (due in February) will join in on the fun!

Ben!

The kiddos...

...And their parents!

Just looked at the clock and it's officially Christmas Eve! Have a wonderful, safe and blessed Christmas!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happy Birthday, Michael!

2010-12-15T22:34:00.007-05:00

Whoa. Michael is turning 3 tomorrow. How is my little man growing up so quickly?

Michael, you are so special to your Mommy (and Daddy and Tay-Tay, too!). From the little twinkle in your eyes to the exaggerated hand motions while you talk, you win over everyone you meet. You are passionate, smart, athletic and oh so funny. Your "Pop, water, Gatorade and peanuts" routine is always a fan favorite. Like most preschoolers, you like things to be your way and can get quite upset when they're not. But, when it's just you and I on those Mommy/Michael days twice each week, you are as good as gold. I'll always cherish our days together. Thank you for completing our family and making me proud to call you my son. I love you!

Us.

We celebrated Michael's birthday on Saturday. Not only does the poor kid's birthday fall exactly nine days before Christmas, it's also in the middle of basketball and Steelers seasons. We just make the party day work as best as we can!

My brother's family, my parents, Mike's mom and husband and our dear friends Jason, Michelle and Ben joined us for the party. Nothing like pizza, homemade cake and fun with friends and family on a frigid December day.

Taylor was so sweet and set Michael up in the living room Saturday morning as we got the decorations ready. She even let him use her beloved Dora blanket!

Before the guests arrived.

Having pizza at the bar with cousins.

Big time.

Cutie Ben.

Guests.

Gpa.

Aunt Laurie, Noah, Mole.

Three of Mike's players stopped by to wish Michael happy birthday. How sweet! From left, Marty, Colt and Kasiem.

Cake time! Just like I did for Taylor's birthday, I let Michael choose what he wanted on his cake and made it myself. His requests - "footballs, shootballs, bat balls, shoccer balls and rainbow colors." I think I covered it all. Please do not report me to cake wrecks, haha.

Make a wish.

Kids playing with Gma N.

Present time, present time, open the presents, see what's inside (name that kids' show).

Crazy kid has wanted a ladybug Pillow Pet for awhile. Look how he's looking at it, haha.

He loved everything, but this Imaginext Bat Cave was definitely a crowd favorite.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Christmas and Snow

2010-12-05T22:59:00.006-05:00

It went from fall to dead of winter weather here in about a week. Tomorrow's high is 20 and we have about 3" of snow on the ground right now. I'll admit, December snow is pretty, especially with Christmas decorations up.

We went with a real tree this year, the first time since Taylor was 2. It was a pain in the ass, I'm not going to lie, but I don't regret it. It's beautiful!

Picking out our tree. This was last week, before the latest Alberta freaking Clipper.

Taylor with one of her favorite ornaments.

Michael with a handful of little Sesame Street ornaments. They were on the tree for about a day. I **think** they are somewhere in his room now.

See Santa, we are sooooo good.

Our pretty tree. Well, unless you are sitting on the loveseat. Then's it kind of an annoying tree because it blocks the view of the TV a little.

Randomly placed Champy pictures:

Looking young and thin! I think Champy used this picture on his Facebook profile.

Best of friends.

Okay, back to the Christmas/winter theme. We got hit with snow all weekend. It was a little warmer yesterday and the entire family spent about two hours outside playing in the snow. I had to make both kids go in. It was the first time that Michael seemed to really enjoy it!

Yay, snow! (Side note: I dress for comfort, not style, in this kind of weather.)

Mike being nice with the kids before pelting them with snowballs.

And the snowball fight begins! We had so much fun, even when some certain Mr. Competitive threw the snowballs too hard. Ahem.

He didn't even fight wearing a hat. Definite success.

Close-range blast at the 6-year-old.

Michael, sneaking up on the Worm.

Cute picture, expect for the neighbor's satellite.

Look at Michael's face here. He was all wound up.

I love this picture!

He wanted to get back to the action.

We've had a lot of fun around here lately. Mike's team had its first game Friday. The young Hurricane lost, but stayed right with one of the biggest schools in Cincy most of the game. Pretty impressive, considering the varsity is made up of zero seniors, two juniors, four sophomores and a freshman! Before the game Friday, the whole family (sans Mike who was already at the game) took my dad to the Olive Garden for his 70th birthday. My lifelong friend, Lea, also joined us and we all had a great time. Happy Birthday, Pops!

Off to watch the end of the Steelers' game.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Ohio State Hoops Game

2010-12-05T22:44:00.004-05:00

Well, I've done it again. I've waited too long between posts, now I have several things to post about. I do freelance work at night and I usually have to choose between blog or work. Boring me has chosen work too much lately.

We went to the Ohio State/Miami basketball game the day after Thanksgiving. Mike and I both know Thad (OSU's coach), so we got hooked up with great tickets - three rows behind Ohio State's bench! Since Mike's former player Quinten is now the starting point guard for Miami, most of his current team came along (and sat in the nosebleed seats). Mike ended up driving a 15-passenger van full of teenage boys. Taylor and I were the only girls!

Can you tell my kids were loving it? Taylor is not the boy crazy type, but Mike and I think she has a little crush on the boy in the black and red jacket. She would be mortified if she knew I wrote that on here!

Thad.

We all had so much fun, but Taylor really ate it up! She's a big OSU fan.

The boys.

The girls.

The Worm and the Pear in Buckeye necklaces!

Taylor loves Brutus.

We made it onto national TV! We had several people tell us they saw us on TV, so we recorded the rebroadcast. I took the picture below off our TV at home.

I have some more updating to do, so I'll see you in the next post!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

I Love This Kid

2010-11-29T21:33:00.002-05:00

Here's a sampling of how the Pear and I spend our time during my days off.

He is so my child. Notice how he bumps the car, then can't resist stopping to line it back up. We both do that kind of stuff all day long.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Thanksgiving '10

2010-11-27T09:45:00.005-05:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to my dad's house for Thanksgiving dinner. My dad's house isn't huge, but I love having celebrations there because there aren't a whole lot of distractions - no video games, computers, extra TV areas, etc. Everyone has to hang out and the kids have to play together and everyone always ends up having so much fun!

Everyone at dinner except Michael and I. Kim and Angie joined us for dessert.

The kids' table. They all thought they were cool sitting there, like it was their own little club. I'm thankful for so many blessings this year - family, friends, health, financial security. Another thing is a little independence for the kiddos! It was nice knowing they could sit there, eat on their own and be fine.

Taylor and Abby.

G-pa and the Worm.

Mother.

Awwwww.

Our little man.

Annual picture with the siblings. Kim, Angie, me, Mole.

The family.

Chris's family. Back: Jacob, Laurie, Chris; front: Haley, Abby, Noah. Yes, Jacob is way taller than his mom now!

Both my kids adore Jacob. He's so good with kids.

The Pear all snuggled up with G-ma.

Off to prepare for the Ohio State game!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Grandmas and Stuff

2010-11-25T21:40:00.005-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a post in the works this week, but never finished it, so I'll hold off on Thanksgiving pictures until I get this one up.

The kids have been thrilled to spend time with both grandmas the last few weeks! My mom went with us to the zoo a few Saturdays ago on a beautiful and unseasonably warm November day.

Grandma, the kids and an Asian elephant.

I usually try to avoid posting pictures of just animals since we've all seen zoo animals before. I thought this adorably pudgy pachyderm was worthy of its own shot.

Running ahead to see the giraffes.

Checking out the gibbons.

The gang in front of one of G-ma's favorites - the red pandas.

Yes, it was November and warm enough for flip flops. In Ohio. Unbelievable!

My mom and I both have a weird sense of humor. She turned to me with a shocked and saddened face because of this crime scene (or deflated Christmas decoration).

One of Taylor's favorites - the polar bear.

Michael loves orangutans and asked to see them all day long. We came in on the opposite side of the zoo, but we finally made our way over to them.

For the Pear.

In Jungle Trails. I'm convinced that my hometown has one of the best zoos in the country!

Manatees.

No trip to the zoo is complete without a ride on the carousel.

The next weekend, Grandma N came from Pittsburgh to visit! She brought the kids lots of crafts and coloring supplies, which they loved. They we both so excited to see her. Marilyn is an artist and showed Taylor some cool art techniques. She also taught Michael that red and yellow make orange, and he's still walking around saying it!

Artists at work.

Taylor has fallen in love with the Magic Treehouse series of books. She pretends to be Annie and "encourages" Michael to be Jack. (Jack and Annie are the two kids in the books.) Michael eats it up and follows her around everywhere.

Jack and Annie on an adventure.

I made the kids a tent in the living room. I had to do a little freelance work in the basement and came back to find this. The were being so silly and raided Taylor's underwear drawer, then were jumping off the chairs used to brace the tent onto the loveseat. I took a couple of pictures to embarrass them with later and then made them stop.

Seriously?

Alright, off to hang with the hubs.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

November Stuff

2010-11-10T14:23:00.003-05:00

November. When most people think of November, they probably think of the usual stuff, Thanksgiving, colder/shorter days, blah, blah. Me? I think of basketball, because this is when the fun begins.

Don't get me wrong. I love basketball, I love that Mike is such a great coach, I love watching games. Things just get a lot more hectic once the season starts!

Taylor had two big events Sunday, a fun cooking birthday party for her friend Katie and a soccer banquet. The birthday party was adorable and I give props to the mom. It was creative, fun and organized.

I wanted to take a picture of Taylor before Katie's party. She posed and winked on her own. What a ham!

The little cooks, decorating strawberry ladybugs.

How cute is this?

I picked Taylor up from the party, she did a quick change of clothes in the car (much to her dismay) and headed to her soccer banquet. As I've mentioned, the Blue Jets were undefeated league champs, so they got pretty sweet trophies!

She was so happy!

Our neighbor Alison's team also won its league!

Taylor and Sydney.

Go Blue Jets!

Go Blue Jets!

Lastly, a few adorable pictures of Michael. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Why I Fell Asleep Sitting Straight Up Today

2010-10-31T22:35:00.011-04:00

Wow, what a busy weekend! I took off work Friday in hopes of getting some stuff done around the house and maybe relax a little. Yeah, right! My first task for Friday (after laundry and daily house cleaning stuff), was to make pumpkin cake balls for Taylor's Halloween party. My dear friend Lauri sent me a Bakerella Cake Pops book for my birthday and I've been itching to try some.

They turned out so cute, but whew, they are time consuming! The kids in Taylor's class, loved them.

Happy little jack-o-lanterns. The only thing I'll do differently is use a different type of edible marker for the faces. The one I used did not show up well on the orange chocolate coating.

Before cute packaging.

Anything that goes to school pretty much has to be individually wrapped. How cute are these?

Taylor and some of her little school friends. She has 24 kids in her class. IN-SANE! Her teacher runs a tight ship though. (And for the record, I'm all for that!)

More sugar, please.

Friday night, we drove to a kind-of nearby college to watch one of Mike's former players scrimmage a kind-of local school. Jordan is a freshman at Ashland University and is already making his mark on the court!

Rare pictures of my children at a basketball game.

We were up bright and early - scratch that - DARK and way early for Taylor's first district soccer game. When we got to the field, it was about 30 degrees, windy and the fog was so thick you couldn't see 20 feet. Those poor girls! Actually, they seemed much less affected than us parents. I'm so happy Mike had conditioning and took Michael with him. It was so cold. The boys did make it to the much warmer second game.

The Blue Jets won the first game 3-2! Taylor did a solid job at midfield and played so well in her two shutout quarters in goal, that her coaches moved her to goal for the entire second game. The second team was big and good. The game was tied 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods before the Blue Jets pulled out the shootout win! I was so proud of Taylor for how fearless and focused she played in goal. She just dives all over the place and hurls her body in front of any and every shot. She is a tough nugget.

We met at our home field before traveling to the tournament site. That's frost all over the fields. The tournament fields were much foggier than this. Brrrrrrr.

Again, brrrrrr.

One advantage to Taylor playing goalie is that the ref let her keep her fleece on since it was a different color than the uniforms. :) Look at how focused she and Sydney are here. Sydney is a great fullback and she and Taylor make a great team on defense.

We had about three hours to kill between the first and second game Saturday, so Taylor, my mom went to Skyline for lunch. Here, the Worm enjoys her first taste of Skyline. Okay, not really. She just got plain spaghetti and crackers. She ate two huge plates.

Cute pictures of Mother and I posing with Taylor. I'll warn you, you'll be wondering why in the world I posted the next couple of pictures. We were having so much fun goofing off that I need these to remind me of the special girl time!

I promised my mom that if she let me post this picture, that I would post this...

...my praying mantis face! Take note of the creepy fingers.

Alright, back to the field.

Taylor really did tear it up in goal that second game. I took this picture just a second too soon. Notice that the purple girl has beaten our defenders. Taylor threw herself on the ball and made the big save.

Just cute. :)

Six years old DID NOT play like this when I was a kid! Look where the ball is!

This picture cracks me up. I was just snapping away trying to get a good action shot. Somehow, I managed to get a picture of the ball mid-flight and not one single soul in the entire frame, ha ha.

Happy Blue Jets.

End of the game cheer.

Taylor and her buddy Aidan. They were also on the same team last year. Look at how much older they look now!

After Saturday's second game, we drove the 45 minutes home and went straight to church. After church, we went out to dinner. Then, back up when the rooster crowed Sunday morning for the district semifinal game. The Blue Jets lost 1-0 against a very good team. What a great season, 11-1-1!

The weekend wasn't over yet, though. Taylor came home, showered, then headed to Lily's birthday party at the bowling alley. After I dropped her off, I put Michael down for a nap, turned on TLC and fell asleep sitting straight up, drool and all. Do you blame me?

Taylor and Lily.

And because this post is lacking in Pear pictures, here's a cute picture of Taylor and Michael playing doctor. She was feeding her patient oranges. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Trick-or-Treat

2010-10-28T21:53:00.004-04:00

My little town, for whatever reason, never does trick-or-treat night on Halloween. From my experience, it's always on the last Thursday in October. Kind of different, but whatever. So, tonight was the big night here in Dub-town!

I chose matching costumes for the kids - cowgirl and cowboy. I realize that this might be the last year for the whole matchy matchy thing. Taylor loves her little brother, but she was definitely too busy wrangling (ha - pun!) up as much candy as possible and socializing to worry about hanging out with her little brother tonight. It's okay, the Pear didn't mind. He learned quickly to grab several pieces of candy when the bowl was extended for self service and then followed up with an adorable "Tank You!" before anyone could protest. He seriously took 15-20 pieces out of one neighbor's bowl and she was just too sweet to stop him.

Yee-haw - the CowWorm and Pearboy.

Our annual Halloween family picture. We're all looking this year!

Taylor ran into her good buddy, Abbey. Abbey goes to a different school but they are on the same soccer team. They're like two peas in a pod.

We were thrilled that our former neighbors, Jason, Michelle and Ben, stopped by the old stomping grounds for trick-or-treating. We just love getting together (even when it's about 45 degrees out). Sara and Caden joined us later, but I didn't get any pictures as my camera's battery was dead by that point.

Ben the Pirate, Michael the Cowboy and Taylor the Cowgirl.

The boys. I can hardly believe this the third Halloween for the both of them!

Off to prepare cake pops for Taylor's class party tomorrow. I can't wait to go play!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Go Blue Jets!

2010-10-24T16:46:00.004-04:00

When Taylor's soccer season started back in the first week of August, I never figured that they'd still be playing in late October. Well, the Blue Jets SAY Soccer 6-7 team finished the regular season undefeated (9-0-1) and qualified for the district tournament. The girls have worked their little behinds off this season and I'm proud of them. They play Saturday and could play every weekend until the state championship on November 20th if they keep winning. That's a lot of soccer, my friends.

Taylor's assistant coach told them after their last regular season game that he was "worried" after the first practice. Of the 10 girls, only three had played in the Passers league last year (the league for 6-7 year olds). Three girls had never played before and four were only in the instructional Candy League last year (Taylor among them).

They've practiced A LOT. We're talking 2 or 3 practices per week, up to two hours per practice. I never thought I'd see 6 year olds actually pass consistently, rotate on defense and stay focused for more than 10 minutes. It's impressive!

Here a few pictures from this past Saturday's scrimmage:

Ready to unleash her nasty left foot, ha ha. Coach Kirk looks on.

Warming up with her teammates.

Defense gets the stop. Time for a chest bump! Coach Shane taught them this. It's absolutely hilarious watching them try to time it right.

Michael gets bored during the games and practices. He does adore Taylor's teammate's little sister. She just turned 5, but they always buddy up.

The Worm in goal. She usually plays midfielder or goalie. Her coach told me she's the best on the team at both. :)

She is always into the game, even when it's her turn to sit out. Look at her cheering on her teammates.

Battling the other team for the ball. She's probably the youngest in the league, but she battles! Gotta love the elbows that both girls are throwing, haha.

I never realized how much of a difference two years makes physically until Taylor started soccer this year. The first four girls in this picture have just turned 8 or will turn 8 in the next few months. The three in the back are all 6. Look how tiny they are in comparison! The older girls are so sweet, though. Taylor's going to miss them after soccer season. Only one other girl goes to Taylor's school.

Wish the Blue Jets good luck this weekend!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Pumpkin Carving and Whatnot

2010-10-21T21:55:00.002-04:00

I bought a pumpkin a few weeks ago and the kids have been itching to carve it. I wanted to wait until the weather cooled off a little to avoid a mushy black-o-lantern by Halloween night. Since the forecast looks chilly, I figured last night was the perfect night.

The Worm and Pear were crowded up on me as I got everything ready, but things changed quickly once I got the top off. Both of them were squeamish about touching the guts so I was left doing the dirty work. Taylor would eventually dip the scoop in, but wasn't thrilled about it.

"Mommy, this is gwoss."

Come on, Taylor, tell us how you really feel.

Our finished product!

I love this picture. Boy, do they look alike here or what?

My birthday was this past weekend (37!). The kids and Mike surprised me with lots of pretty roses on Saturday night! I love, love, love flowers.

The pink ones were from Taylor, the orange from Michael and the yellow from Mike. My three favorite rose colors!

Mike went to Pittsburgh on Sunday (my actual birthday), so the kids and I headed down to Cincinnati to see my folks. They spoiled their baby girl, of course. My mom decorated the dining so cute just like when I was a little girl. :)

Fun fall decor and my cuties!

Pops and Mother.

My pretty and tasty cake.

The kids were excited to have leaves to play in at G-pa's house. We only have one tree in our yard and the leaf output is weak.

A couple of quick Taylor brags. We found out this week that Taylor was named her class's Student of the Month for August/September. We're so proud! Now that's a good way to start off an educational career.

Second brag - Taylor's Blue Jets team is practicing for the district tournament. Tonight, the coach had the girls run a lap around the field to end practice. The coach's daughter was tired, upset and cranky and snapped at her dad as she ran. He finished up talking to the girls and dismissed them, then made his daughter run a second lap for being disrespectful. She was sobbing by this point. As we were walking away, Taylor stopped me and said, "I want to run with A----." So, she took off and ran that extra lap with her teammate, all on her own with no persuading from me. I thought it was pretty neat! She's never scored a goal in an actual game, but she'll never know how proud she makes us with her actions on and off the field.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

A Day at Bonnybrook Farm

2010-10-17T21:48:00.005-04:00

Saturday was an a beautiful Fall day and the family, along with Grandma T., traveled to Bonnybrook Farm after Taylor's last regular season soccer game (Taylor's Blue Jets team finished undefeated and qualified for the district tourney. More on that later.) Last year, our trip to a different pumpkin patch was a little, uh, crappy. It was raining on and off, about 40 degrees and Michael was not feeling it. This year was perfect!

We love Bonnybrook Farms!

Don't we look happy?

Grandma's turn. She totally spoiled the kids, of course. She paid for them to do all of the activities and got sweet-talked into buying them stuffed animals about five minutes into being there. She rocks.

The place is impressive. It's so big that you aren't tripping over other people and there's plenty to keep the kids entertained. A lot of the activities are free or cost very little. (Easy for me to say since G-ma was footing the bill.)

I was disappointed that the penny pony was for 12 and under. I'm sure the staff has some good stories as to why that rule had to be added...

Mommy, I want a pony.

Tub fishing. Don't drink the water.

Both kids love to do crafts and artwork. I finally had to tell them that enough was enough with the pumpkin painting. We would have been there for hours.

Artist at work.

This is like three pictures of Mike and I together in about a month. Gasp!

Like I mentioned, there are tons of fun things to do there, but my favorite was probably the mountain slide. It was a 25-foot corrugated tunnel slide that went through a big hill. Somehow, I managed to talk my mom into doing it. The woman has had a hip and knee replaced in the last 10 years, but took me up on the challenge. She almost went down backwards! Her foot caught as she was getting into the tunnel and she spun around. Luckily, I was able to grab her in time, haha!

I love this picture. Look how big the hill is - it's quite a hike to the top of the tunnel! I did not enhance the color either. It was a gorgeous day.

I took a picture of everyone on the slide, but HAVE to post this one. Mad props to you, Mother.

You shoot out at the bottom.

Some more pictures:

Mother, on the long and winding road. Or, maybe that 's the road not taken...

Two sights I'd better never see again:

The petting area was really cool. You could get right up close and pet the donkeys, goats, sheep, horses and chickens. Well, maybe not the chickens. They're kind of pecky.

Black(ish) sheep, black(ish) sheep, what do you see? Michael's favorite part of his favorite book, so he had to have a picture.

A horse is a horse (of course, of course).

A few more random cute pictures:

Be still my heart, they are sharing.

We ended our day with the customary hayride. Now it was pushing 3 p.m. at this point and the Pear had endured a full soccer game, a long car ride and three hours at the farm. He was definitely getting a little nasty when we boarded, (Quote from one older woman sitting across from us, "Oh, I've never seen a child that young make such a mean face." Nice.) He settled in once we got going and had a blast.

Mike and I are cut off and Taylor is totally fake smiling, but this still beats the other picture my mom took because in it, Michael is making the aforementioned "face."

He was trying to make "the face" here too, but I tickled him right before my mom snapped the picture.

That's better!

My sunny girl.

I actually took way more pictures, but I don't have the patience to put them all on here. We'll definitely be going back next year. Fun times!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Fall is Here

2010-10-04T14:32:00.004-04:00

I love Summer. When I was growing up, I hated Fall because I knew what was next. I'm a pretty optimistic person, but I've never been able to embrace Winter. As I've gotten older, I have grown to appreciate Fall. We've had a really hot September, but it's finally cooling off and it's nice!

Cozy in warm, fuzzy sweats.

Michael too.

My niece Abby's birthday was a few weeks ago, but we finally all got together and celebrated on Sunday. Can't believe that little cutie is 4 now!

Abby and her princess cake.

Taylor and cousin Haley.

Yum, cake!

My brother and I. Love to the Mole!

With soccer games and work, Tuesdays are my craziest day. Gotta go prepare!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spirit Week, Oktoberfest & Lifelong Friends

2010-09-30T22:21:00.005-04:00

Still as busy as ever around here!

This past weekend, we went to our church's Oktoberfest after Mass. We met up with our old neighbors (sad that they are now "old" neighbors) and had a really good time! The kids loved the little train and inflatables and I enjoyed a few cups of really cold brews. Ahhhhh.

The kids in front of one of the cool downtown murals.

These days, two beers + camera = self portrait.

The Pear had so much fun in this little train ride!

Don't let the snarl fool you! That's one of his signature looks. Oh brother.

Taylor was totally fearless on the big slides.

I was impressed that Michael is just 2 and could climb this huge rock wall!

A funny sequence:

Michael at the top of the big slide...

...oops! He flipped sideways and log rolled the rest of the way down! He was not fazed.

This little train was definitely the hit of the night. Michael, Taylor and Ben.

On Monday, we got a special visit from one of my dearest lifelong friends. Lea and I have been friends since we were toddlers hanging out at our brothers' T-ball games. She was kind enough to join the Pear and I for lunch.

Can you tell that Michael liked her? :)

Riding the elephant in the lobby of Max & Erma's.

Being a good boy, playing with his crayons and eating his packed sandwich as Lea and I caught up.

Tomorrow is Wilmington's homecoming so Taylor got to participate in her first Spirit Week. Monday was hat day (pink Steelers hat), Tuesday was jersey day (she had a game that night and wore her Blue Jets jersey), Wednesday was crazy day, Thursday was alien day and tomorrow is orange and black day. She totally ate it all up!

Crazy Day:

Alien Day (she actually wore different bottoms, not these Daisy Dukes, haha):

And two shots of Michael being adorable.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel