Oh Hail!

Whew-wee! We've had some whacky weather around here lately! Let's see - a tornado warning and power outtage Saturday night, severe thunderstorms two or three more nights and big ol' hail the last two nights. Yesterday, there was a high of 87 degrees; today it was lucky to reach 65 degrees. Crazy!

Hail in my flower bed. It was way bigger than this, but I had to wait to get out there and take a picture.

It would get really sunny in between downpours!

The kids enjoying a break in the weather. High heels and Daisy Dukes - nice look Taylor!

Mooommmmy, I can't go out there. I'll melt!

Yay, it quit raining! Now we can take a walk!

Who could resist this face?

I had to take this picture for all of my friends and family who have not made the trek to Wilmington. This is diagonal from our road, about two football fields away. Back in the day, nobody would have believed that I'd end up living really, really close to the country. (Those are sprouting beans, by the way.)

We had one last graduation party for the year. Kirby and his family are such awesome people! We wish him the best in college and I sure hope his parents and kid brother still hang out at basketball games next season. Taylor gave him a few hundred hugs at his party. :)

Kirby, Mike, Pear.

Taylor loves getting girlied up for parties!

Guess how Michael stayed amused?

Future OSU tailback?

Wow, it's late and I need to get some sleep! Have a good one!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happiness in Deep-Fried Dough

The non-stop rain the past couple of days really affected the moods here this morning. Taylor was whiny, Michael was screaming about his stool being out of place, having to walk from the living to the kitchen, etc. and I was ticked about the smelly wet dog and just not ready to deal with any of it. I don't like to yell, but man was I Grouch Mom this morning! Deep down, I'm not a morning person anyway. I became one out of necessity. In my single days, I worked nights on the copy desk (9 p.m. to 5 a.m. shift) or covered late-night games. My ideal sleep schedule was 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. Of course, that had to change. I enjoy working out before the kids get up, but I don't deal with conflict very well in the early hours.

What's the best cure for three sour moods? Donuts! We hit up the new donut shop in town before Taylor went to school. I think we all feel a little better. :)

Heaven in a sprinkle-covered, lard-fried hunk o' dough.

Why have you been holding out on us Mommy???

Thumbs up!

Donut holes - the perfect size for the Pear. (Notice he's sitting in a big-boy booster chair?)

I'm not going to lie. They made me happy, too.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Life's a Beach

The warmer weather and our recently booked Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach have inspired me to change the blog colors to something a little more beachy. Hope you enjoy.



We had a good weekend. Mike was crazy busy with basketball (game Friday, scout Saturday and tournament draw on Sunday) so the kids and I were a team. We played outside some and visited Grandma yesterday. It was nice to get out of the house (I think we all felt that way!). Mike's team won Friday (15-1) and earned the No. 1 seed in their sectional. They took the bye and play on Wednesday, March 4th. Go Cane!



I haven't taken any pictures lately, so I'll share some from this time last year. Can you believe how much the kids have grown?




Have a good week!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Hoops, Hollywood and Hines

All is good in our world. Despite gross Ohio weather, we're having fun right now. Mike had a particularly good week last week as his basketball team went 3-0 (beat a conference rival Tuesday, an undefeated team Friday and a defending district champ at OSU Saturday). Then, of course, the Steelers put a butt-whoppin' on the Chargers Sunday to advance to the AFC championship game (with home field advantage, I might add. Titans, thank you very much for choking.) Mike and Jason will be headed back to Heinz Field to watch Hines and Ben take care of business Sunday.



Mike's hoops team is now 9-0 and ranked fifth in the state in the latest AP poll. They've been pretty impressive! Saturday was a lot of fun. We got to Ohio State a little early and I took the kids over to the Scholar house to show them where Mommy lived for five years. It was 11:30 a.m., but we had trouble getting in because everyone was still asleep. Some things never change, haha. Finally, a kid with tossled hair stumbled out with his dog (I assume the dog's bathroom needs were the only reason the guy was awake and moving) and let us into the building. Taylor thought it was pretty cool to see my old abode, even though it was really messy and kind of stunk. According to one of the nice Scholars that emerged from his room (wearing just PJ pants), they had hosted a party the night before. Plus, they've just built a new building a few blocks away and are preparing to move. I told him no need to apologize - I was there once, too.


Taylor and Michael posing on the bar in the Scholar rec room. Neither wanted to sit up there (Michael is whining and Taylor is faking it), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.)

The game was fun and I almost forgot how AMAZING (that's for you Lauri) the Schottenstein Center is. Both kids were on the big screen several times. One of the local photographers took a picture of Taylor on the big screen and it was in today's Wilmington paper. Too funny. She's a little celebrity. I keep calling her Hollywood. You can check it out at http://www.wnewsj.com/. Click on Electronic Edition on the left side and go to page B8. If will be there on Tuesday and you can still find it after that by clicking on archives (after clicking Electronic Edition).

People always comment on how good my kids are at the games. I have one word: snacks.



He's not really eating them; just holding them.



Don't you love his little shirt? Side note: he doesn't drink out of a bottle during the day anymore, but I left his sippy at home. That's one of the bottles Taylor uses for her dolls and it was in the backpack.

Not much else going on. I feel like Michael went through a time warp the last few weeks. He takes several steps now, eats almost all table food now, is off the formula ($$$$$) and is starting to become more verbal. He said "cookie" tonight while he was eating an animal cracker. Taylor and I had fun painting Valentines today (yes, in the middle of winter with nothing else to do, you start with the Valentine activities a month early). She is such a good little artist. I showed her one time how to make a heart and she was drawing them like a pro. She made an awesome Valentine for me and a Valentine with a picture of Hines (her idea) for Mike. Cute, cute, cute.

Alright, back to mommy time. Michael is sitting on my lap right now and I fear for the safety of the keyboard.



Until next time,



Mommy Kel

Happy New Year!

Man, where does the time go? I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I've updated. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! We had a great time visiting friends and family. Mike's brother Pat and his girlfriend Tawanda came to visit on December 23rd. Mike was supposed to have a game that night, but it was cancelled because of ice. We all ended up hanging out, eating pizza and watching movies. It was a much needed day of relaxation!

On Christmas Eve, we went to mass, then headed down to my brother's house. Taylor loves her cousins and Michael has taken a particular liking to his cousin Jacob. Michael hung with his cool big cousin much of the night, which gave me the opportunity to chit chat and have a glass of wine (or three).

Michael and his buddy Jacob and the Mole (my brother Chris). Chris doesn't always dress like that. It's a tradition for him to wear a horrendous outfit at Christmas. He had on his wife's sleep shirt from college and Sponge Bob pants.

The fam, sans spouses and kids.

The cousins - Noah (7), Taylor (4), Haley (5), Jacob (11), Michael (1), Abby (2)

Mike and Noah.

G-pa and Taylor.

Snuggling with a Christmas Pear. He looks thrilled.

Santa was good to the kids this year! Taylor has been asking for a swimming puppy since October and the jolly old elf obliged. He even left it unwrapped, so it was the first thing the Worm saw when she came down the steps. The Pear loved his new wagon, but wasn't so thrilled with his Tickle Me Cookie Monster. He cries every time we turn it on! Other big hits for Michael include his Elmo car, Learning Table from G-ma T and pull-along turtle from Uncle Pat. Taylor loves everything, but has played mostly with her Hungry, Hungry Hippos game, remote control My Little Pony and Jungle in My Pocket set from G-ma T. Thankfully, Taylor seems to get the whole meaning of Christmas and I'm sure Michael will, too.

The beloved swimming puppy.

My little elf with Daddy.

Taylor and I. Yes, I was as tired as I looked.

Trying out Michael's new ride. It was like a double Christmas for Taylor. She played/plays with all of the Pear's toys.

I'm so anal sometimes that I want to smack myself. After about 15 minutes of basking in the Christmas morning glory, I went into cleaning mode and had the living room clear of debris and all toys out of boxes and assembled before 9 a.m. We fed and dressed the kids, packed and started the next leg of our Christmas journey. (Mary and Joseph had nothing on us.) The kids were great during the car trip to Pittsburgh and we made great time. (I say "we" like I actually drove or something. Now that I have a 50-minute commute each way to work, I've pretty much handed over all family driving duties to the Man.) Marilyn prepared a delicious Christmas meal for us and it was great seeing Mike's entire immediate family there. I can't remember the last time that all of his siblings were together! We rested and chatted awhile before taking off for the next destination - Aunt Ginny's house to see all of Mike's aunts and uncles on his dad's side. I really enjoy these guys and I know the kids had a blast. Michael - in typical booger Pear form - wanted no part in being held by his lovely great aunts. Instead, he buddied up with the men and reached for his 16-year-old cousin Matt anytime he was in the room. What a stinker!

"Mommy, I love Matt."

A rare picture of Mike and I.

(Note: I have more pictures to add, but the image uploader was acting goofy last night.)

We headed home the next morning. We really ran around a lot this year and I was impressed with how well the kids handled it. We were all a little grouchy that night from the lack of sleep, but all is good now.

I'll end with some recent pictures of the kids. Enjoy!

What a cutie!

Taylor at her friend's Princess party. She's Miss Social now.

Michael always has stuff in his hands now. It took me forever to get the pine crap off his hands from carrying these pine cones!

We had a few warm days right after Christmas, so we got to try out the wagon.

I love this picture!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel