Striving To Be Bold

Happy Birthday!

2012-02-28T06:44:00.000-05:00

To me, that is! Today is my 27^th birthday—woot woot!

Last year, I hardly uttered a word about my birthday and it ended up being a little letdown. I did visit Sharon & family the weekend before and had a spontaneous birthday evening dinner with a few friends, as well as doing some Michael Jackson dancing at Stacy’s —but it’s a day about me and this year, I’ve been hamming it up! What can I say; I’ve learned from the best—ahem, Stacy!

Unfortunately, with my birthday being smack during the workweek, the celebrating has been sporadic but very fun this year. The celebrating began on Saturday, when I went out for coffee (okay, okay, chai in my case!) with my friend Bobi. She moved back to town at the end of last summer and we enjoy getting together to catch up a couple Saturdays a month. Yumm!

On Sunday, my friend Lindsey and I had lunch, dessert, and a couple hours of good old girl chat at BJ’s Brewhouse. The only thing I had that was brewed was sweet tea and it was better than any beer in my opinion. I have never had a beer I enjoyed, so there! I got a chicken parm type meal and a pizookie for dessert. I’d never had a pizookie before but Lindsey talked it up. Oh man…hot cookie, melting ice cream…

(Ignore that the sun makes it look like I lost part of my head!)

I’m also heading to the chocolate café with Stacy on Monday (writing this Sunday because I won’t have time on my actual birthday!) so I’ll let you know how that goes. I’m pretty sure it will be yummy too… I’ll celebrate with my family next weekend. I haven’t seen them since Christmas so I’m excited!

If you’d like to revisit some of my past birthday posts from the blog…

A random recap of birthdays… here

For the year Sharon and I got our eyebrows waxed, she helped me highlight my hair, I looked like I had a tall Mohawk, we went to the piano bar and saw my crush, I went bowling with my familia…click here

Bowling With Preschoolers: An Adventure!

2012-02-26T20:29:00.001-05:00

(I had to use this pic because some of the kids had intense concentration!)

We had an the adventure the other day. My boss had surgery and needed to spend a day just relaxing and sleeping at their house, so I had the kids out and about. Laney was in school all day, but the two boys had to be kept busy.

Last summer, I took the kids bowling- and the older two did really well. Tobin was just over a year old at the time and could have cared less.

Cut to 8 or 9 months later- I wanted to find something that would keep Derek happy and busy—as well as to keep his little mind off his recuperating dad. I mentioned bowling to him, and he sounded interested. I spent an afternoon calling about 15 (no lie!) bowling alleys around town to check out open bowling prices. As it ended up, we landed at a bowling alley I went to every weekend last year while I was on a bowling league.

Now, I knew that Tobin likely wouldn’t last too terribly long, so I planned for one bowling game. I also brought along a huge pad of white paper and crayons. Tobin picked out a few trucks/cars and board books to bring along as well. As a backup, I brought in the stroller in case I needed to rein him in for some of my turns (which I did, although just a time or two). At 22 months old, he did REALLY well. I was proud of him!

Now…our adventure! Some of our friends were meeting us at the bowling alley but we arrived first. We walked in and I grabbed shoes for Derek. I asked the woman at the desk about shoes for Tobin. She looked around, and not seeing him wandering around (he was strapped in the stroller) looked confused. I motioned to him and she peered over the counter,

“OH! HE’s bowling?!?!”

“Well…we’ll try it! I think he’ll have fun. I brought some coloring paper for him in case he doesn’t do well,” I replied.

“Oookkkkayyy. We don’t usually have kids as young as him do it…”

Sigh. He’s almost two, lady. Let’s let him try, okay??!

A minute later, I explained to her that we’d have two lanes going—one for the adults and Tobin, and the other for Derek and his friends- as I mentioned to desk lady, “the older kids”—making sure to motion to Derek as I said that.

About five minutes later, we were situated with shoes and our balls. Our friends Bess, Lana, Oli and Leo walked in. At the desk, the woman peered at them and asked, “Are you with HER???” motioning to me at the other end of the alley.

“Umm…yes…?” Bess replied.

“Oh. Because when she said older kids, I thought she meant TEENAGERS!”

Ahhahaa.

Whoops. Poor lady…we had two adults, four kids who were four years old, and one one year old. I think we gave her a couple new gray hairs!

Needless to say, bowling was an adventure. The kids did really, really well. They cheered for each other (and us). Tobin had a blast pushing the ball after I placed it on the floor for him- no, he couldn’t carry it. It was a six pounder and the tyke would have smashed his poor toes. He clapped every time his ball made it down the lane and with much excitement.

The coloring paper came in handy, too. After about seven frames, the kiddos who were waiting for their turns took to coloring squirrels, houses, rainbows and other pictures.

All in all, bowling was a smashing success. Just don’t ask the counter lady.

Serenity

2012-02-22T08:58:00.001-05:00

I had a particularly crazy day at work earlier this week. As soon as I walked in, it was clear this wasn’t going to a normal, easy-flow day. Derek was protesting his return to school after a four day skiing trip with Laney and his dad. Their dad was off work due to upcoming surgery. Derek showed up at the breakfast table not only with his stubbornness but a possible broken nose (lovely & bruised) from a fall on his trip. Tobin seemed to have turned on the two-year-old tantrum faucet overnight and since he doesn’t talk, his grunts filled the house.

The day progressed—Derek went to school despite his plans otherwise. Tobin and I went to our normal storytime at the library and had a fantastic time (ahem, cue 2 year old tantrums again…)

After lunchtime, Tobin and I played for a while and headed upstairs to read books. While I put him down for a nap, Derek fell asleep on a chair in the living room while relaxing with his dad. I sighed with relief and went to grab my lunch.

Cue disaster.

Immediately, as soon as I sat down, the dog began to ferociously bark, workers outside looked scared of said dog, the basement door was pounded off its hinges, two phones rang, Derek woke up and began to protest again (this time about his doctor appointment to check on his nose), the workers asked that the van be moved from the driveway, two large trucks full of drywall bound for the basement were blocking the road…

It was a crazy day.

So, after work, I headed to the park. There is just enough sunlight in the evenings now that I can squeeze in a quick round of walking at the local park. As a bonus, the park has a small lake (large pond?) and the sun was peacefully setting. It was peaceful and serene- the sunset and clouds perfectly mirrored in the water, not a breeze in the air. It was a perfect, quiet end to my absolutely crazy day, and for that I was thankful.

Remember to take pleasure in the simple things!!

First Grade

2012-02-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

The oldest of the three children that I nanny for is in 1st grade. Laney is an artistic, caring little girl whose reading has really been taking off- but some of the papers she has been bringing home are cracking me up lately.

“I like your shirt”
”Thanks”
= instant friends

“HEY”
= not friends

Bloom & Nella

2012-02-18T19:39:00.000-05:00

My blog has had more hits in the past 24 hours than it has in a usual year. It's unreal what a yummy Pinterest picture can do. Thanks, Marshmallow Brownie Cupcakes!

There is a blog I read regularly about a little girl named Nella and her family. Nella was born with Down Syndrome-- a condition her parents were unaware of until her birth. They are an amazing family, full of fun and certainly in tune with my 2012 "Embrace Life" resolution. Nella's mom has written a book that will be coming out later this year, and I certainly look forward to reading it. Children (people!) with Down Syndrome are absolutely amazing and I'm proud to have worked with a few.

Marshmallow Brownie Cupcakes!

2012-02-17T21:20:00.001-05:00

The little boy I nanny for wanted s’mores, but the family had no chocolate bars. His mom came up with this simple idea, which I made yesterday.

It’s so very, very simple- but YUMMY!

What you need
- Brownie mix (prepare as usual)
- Large Marshmallows
- Silicone cupcake holders (or cooking spray) I made the mistake of using paper holders and they were incredibly hard to get off!!

Directions
- Mix up the brownies and plop a little to cover the bottom of the cupcake holders
- Toss a marshmallow in the middle
- Smush down a little and pour brownie mix over it
- Bake 25ish minutes @ 325*

ENJOY!

Sloth Autotuned

2012-02-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

I'm a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, so I catch a lot of clips online. I don't really know who Kristen Bell is, but she was on Ellen a couple week ago. I do enjoy seeing her boyfriend, Dax Shepard, on the show Parenthood, so I clicked on the link. The first video is funny, the second one is even more hysterical.

(Kristen gets a sloth)

Autotuned hysteria

Ahh, I'm sorry but it makes me laugh. At least she has a good attitude about it :-)

Winter is Mean to Me

2012-02-11T10:31:00.001-05:00

Okay.

So remember ~~a few weeks ago~~ last week when I said this winter was pretty much awesome and light? It still holds true for the most part, the kids were out drawing with chalk on Monday and Tuesday.

However, I haven’t seen my family since Christmas and it’s not for lack of trying. A couple of weeks ago, it was planned that my “baby’ sister (she’s almost 12 but she’s my baby!) was going to come and spend the weekend with me. We were going to go mini-golfing, see a movie, visit some of my favorite food places…and Friday afternoon, before I left work, an ice storm started and didn’t let up until mid-Saturday (or later, I don’t remember). Instead of hanging out with my little sis, I spent the weekend reading, organizing, and being bored until it was time for Levate on Sunday evening.

This past Thursday was my sister Lily’s 17^th birthday. Tonight we planned for a party- a small one, but pizza, ice cream, going to the movies…well last night, snow/blowing/freezing cold weather moved in and the highway between my house and my parents was slick and not too safe, according to the state weather website. This morning, the drive is even worse…so, I’m not going. It’s quite possible the party will be cancelled anyway…but I am SO, SO bummed.

Winter, I hate you today.

GO AWAY.

I want summer!!!!!!!

Funny Friday

2012-02-10T05:21:00.000-05:00

Things that made me laugh in the last week…

1) Not sure if this would make me laugh or cry if it happened to me…

Photo from here

2)

Photo from here

3)

Photo from here

4)
We’ve watched this two weeks in a row after young adult group

5)

photo from here

In The News: My Thoughts

2012-02-06T11:10:00.000-05:00

There have been a couple of news stories lately that have caught my eye. I do enjoy reading the local news here and in that of my parents’ hometown, although not every day.

This story on the possibility of banning smoking while children are in the car is one I would have skipped reading until a few days ago. I was at a stoplight on the way home from work one day this week when I looked over. Right next to me was a woman smoking. Her window was cracked maybe ¼ of an inch. I could see smoke tendrils unraveling through the car. Just the thought of being in that car with her made me gag, as I have had friends who smoke in their cars and I find myself almost gagging while in their cars (even if they aren’t smoking at the time!). Sitting in the backseat of the car I saw was a little girl, maybe two years old. I immediately felt badly for her—after all, as the article says, she has no say in it, and yet she is clearly breathing in smoke. As I continued my drive I thought (in my non-nicotine-addicted mind), “there is a park RIGHT HERE, less than half a mile from the intersection. Couldn’t she at least stop there, step outside of her car to smoke??”

Photo from here

The second story that made me wince was this one dealing with people who jaywalk repeatedly. When I drive to work, it is still pitch dark. Almost every morning, there are multiple people walking across random spots in the road. There ARE crosswalks, they are not using them. On multiple occasions I have come close to hitting people because they are walking right in front of traffic. It’s like they do not look before they cross the road! It’s so dangerous.

Do you follow the news? Do some news stories scare you like they do me? Sometimes I wonder about this world…

A Year Ago: Icy

2012-02-04T11:02:00.001-05:00

A year ago, the weather pictures I posted on Facebook were these ones according to Timehop (which by the way is a cool program, go check it out). Clearly it was icy and cold- snow was on the ground.

Today we have rain—lots and lots of it. I am LOVING this winter weather. I mean, I’d prefer 70s/80s but if it’s a choice between rainy and 50s or freezing cold/snow/ice…I will take what we have. This is the first winter that we’ve spent an immense of time outside—biking, taking walks to the park—it’s absolutely crazy. Yesterday after school the older two kids played outside for a good hour and a half while the baby and I cleaned. It was over 50*!

At the beginning of January the kids and I took a trip to the park and the sun was going down. I took this picture. The pond wasn’t even frozen all the way through, and the fact we were at the park in January in and of itself was unreal.

We also found dandelions popping up around the neighborhood. It’s a strange winter, my friends.

Hanging with the Metal Workers

2012-02-01T23:01:00.001-05:00

We went to the zoo yesterday with some friends. It was a gorgeous, sunny day so we wanted to take advantage of it! However, the kids were all more interested in the men doing repair work than they were in the monkeys…

Hard Week

2012-01-28T15:47:00.001-05:00

This past week was a hard one for me, work wise. By the end of it I just felt like a bad nanny. My job can be draining during weeks like this one!

First, a six-week house project began at my place of work. Granted they are working in the basement but it is WEIRD to have random men walking in and out of the house. Secondly, we didn’t see any of our friends. Stacy hopped off to Cali for the week (lucky girl!), Haley ended up with a sick kiddo, Elsa and I just weren’t able to coordinate our schedules… Being as we usually see friends 2-4 days of the week, I had an itch to talk to another adult by the end of the week, for sure!

Enter Friday. Tobin and I spent the morning at a toddler indoor play time. It’s at a local rec center- a huge gym filled with balls, bikes, tumbling equipment, and 40-50+ toddlers and their caregivers. After a little more than an hour, Tobin was ready to leave—and promptly fell asleep in the car on the way to get Derek from school. He slept for about 20 minutes, but it didn’t worry me. Ahem.

By Tobin’s normal naptime, it was apparent this day was not going to follow our normal schedule. With Derek fast asleep, Tobin voiced his displeasure about naptime until I finally gave up. After about a half hour, I could tell he was tired, but he’s been on a wacky sleep schedule since Christmas and his parents wanted to reverse that…so I kept him up.

The kiddo made my afternoon. Once Laney got home from school, he was a complete mess. I began to help him pick up the DVDs he’d dumped off the bookshelves earlier in the week, pausing to go to the bathroom. When I returned, this was his position.

Later in the afternoon, it happened again.

He woke up once I started to vacuum. Hopefully he slept well last night. I’m thankful for his silliness- especially at the end of a cold January week!

PhotoSpot #3

2012-01-20T20:11:00.001-05:00

That is me in the middle. Yes, my mother let me out of the house like this. No, I have no idea why.

PhotoSpot #2

2012-01-18T15:26:00.001-05:00

Meet Tobin. The youngest of the kids I nanny for, Tobin will soon turn 2. He enjoys jumping off of furniture, playing ball, being the family clown...and enjoying the air brought by Elefun.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PhotoSpot #1

2012-01-17T14:56:00.001-05:00

I decided that since I'm spending most of my free time organizing pictures, the least I can do is share some of them with you. Some of them will be of places I've visited in the past, some are just very random-- like today's picture of an albino frog we saw at the science center. I'd never seen anything like it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Yooo, Lurkers!

2012-01-14T23:18:00.001-05:00

I just found out it’s National De-Lurking Day today. Granted, today is almost over, but let’s just call it National De-Lurking Weekend! Since this weekend is MLK weekend and for some of you that means an extra day off work, you have plenty of time to introduce yourself and let me know that you’re reading. Otherwise, who knows…this blog may self-destruct!

BTW, those of you who have a long weekend… I am jealous!

Bloggy Hiatus

2012-01-12T14:57:00.001-05:00

I began the new year with great intentions. I wanted to blog at least 2 times a week, read more, be more organized, fully enjoy my Thursdays (basically my Sunday/ aka day off).

I am enjoying the new year. Our weather has been fantastic, there is a huge lack of snow and I am SOO thankful for that. However, on the bloggy front I am feeling very blah. I’m just not feeling like I’m in a blogging mood, and add on top of that I discovered that my computer is about to crash because the hard drive is 99% full. There are almost 80,000 pictures on my computer and probably 2/3 of those need to be deleted. There are multiples, blurred pictures, up-close pictures of my sister from when she steal my camera…it’s just out of control.

So, if you don’t see me around, I’m trying to uncover my poor computer from the mounds of photos it's buried under.

How do you keep pictures organized? What programs do you use? I need some help!

Word of 2012

2012-01-07T21:47:00.001-05:00

I know a lot of other bloggers who do a “word of the year” so I decided to join in. Last year I attempted a word of the month and horribly failed sooo.. yea.

I definitely plan to finish my 2011 wrap up at some point but I’m still going through pictures. This post is a little quicker.

My 2012 word:

EMBRACE

(no, not me)

Not so much “embrace” as lots of hugging…I’m not really a physical person, haha. Instead, I mean that I want to enjoy the small things, I want to explore my city more, I want to make an effort to get out more. I want to embrace life. The first four or so months of the year will be spent “embracing” my debt and kicking it forcefully to the curb!

PS: Did you know there is a symbol that means “embrace life”? Hmm, tattoo idea?

I’m Guest Blogging!!

2012-01-03T19:34:00.001-05:00

A month or so ago, my friend Julie asked if I’d like to guest post on her blog. I jumped at the chance but didn’t really have a topic in mind for a few weeks. I finally got my act together, wrote it and the post is up on Julie’s blog today! Go check it out… Thanks for the opportunity, Julie!

God’s Plan vs. My Plan

2011: A Year in Review: Part II

2012-01-02T19:42:00.001-05:00

Part I here

June was full of family. I visited Pennsylvania and my favorite amusement park from childhood, Knoebels. My sister got married and I took my two younger sisters to Rehoboth & Bethany Beaches, Assateague Island, and Six Flags. I hiked in the local Metroparks, enjoying nature with the kids in the form of picnics and the pool.

July was another busy month. My youngest sister and I arrive in Rhode Island at the very end of the month, so everything else pales in comparison. Kidding, kidding…I met some of my family in Washington D.C. for a quick day and a half of sightseeing. I experienced my first sobriety check (passed!) shortly after entering Virginia. Attending the county and state fairs took up the rest of my time.

The best part of August was undoubtedly spending time in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, relaxing and visiting family and old friends. I got to ride on my brother’s motorcycle, hit the countryside drive-in, mini-golfed with kids and adults alike, visited an aquarium, hung out on Block Island for a day and became addicted to Phase 10. The last day of the month, my “new” car was backed into, but thankfully it and everyone involved was fine.

Part III coming soon!

2011: A Year in Review: Part I

2011-12-31T15:18:00.001-05:00

I feel like 2011 was an okay year for me. My first thoughts were that nothing really major happened. No one in my family died, I didn’t date or travel overseas…2012 should be interesting!

In January, I went skiing for the first time in 20+ years, joined a bowling league, enjoyed snowy parks, hung out with old friends and coworkers on football Sundays, began taking pottery classes, visited the zoo in 10* weather, took my sisters sledding…

February brought an ice storm, rainbow cookies, chocolate making with the kids I nanny for, a visit to my best friend in Pennsylvania, the birthday celebration of a stuffed dog, a trip to Toledo to visit my friend Sharon’s new baby Cillian, my 26th birthday…

March was full of fun. I played Michael Jackson dance Wii at Stacy’s house, celebrated my birthday with my family, kicked my family’s butt in bowling, visited Cincinnati, went to Lake Erie with two college friends, saw Tangled in 3D, watched many scary movies, welcomed Ladybug, and dog sat even though I don’t like dogs.

My new car arrived in April, along with warmer weather, flowers popping up, resetting a car radio, bison, tie dyeing, a visit to the piano bar, lots of time outside, getting pulled over in my new car, dyeing Easter eggs, and Cillian’s baptism.

May is usually my favorite month. I turned the Santa Maria, discovered the show “Bones”, watched my sister fall into a creek, rope swung, and visited Hocking Hills with friends.

Part II coming soon!

My House on the Lake

2011-12-30T06:38:00.000-05:00

When I went to the lake this fall with Bug and Ladybug, I had some free time. We were there because their parents are looking to buy a lake house, so I found one I could afford to have some fun up there, too!

What do you think of my new pad?

Where Oranges Grow

2011-12-28T07:35:00.000-05:00

The boys and I took a trip to the conservatory to check out some original Grinch drawings and gingerbread houses. While we were there, we went to the Palm House. Little Ohio boy that he is, Derek spotted this tree and had some questions.

Derek- Hey! Hey- what’s that orange thing growing on the tree?
Me- Uh, that’s an orange, Derek.
Derek- (very confused) What?
Me- It’s an orange. Where did you think an orange came from?
Derek- Oh. The ground…

Poor little Ohioan.

Unwrapping Christmas Traditions

2011-12-24T12:19:00.000-05:00

I love hearing about everyone’s Christmas traditions. How does your family celebrate?

- My family has an annual Christmas party. I haven’t been able to attend for a few years now, but there are usually around 100 people (or were back in the day...)

- I have the job of hanging the Christmas stockings, or did when I lived in my parents’ house.

- On Christmas Eve, we have our family dinner of ham, au gratin potatoes, rolls, etc.

- On Thanksgiving, we each pick a name of one of our siblings to buy a gift for. This started years ago when we were really young and didn’t have money to buy 6 siblings & 2 parents a gift, but it’s continued to this day. On Christmas Eve, we exchange our “Secret Santa” gifts.

- After SS gifts and dinner, we attend Christmas Eve Mass.

- In past years, I have enjoyed the quiet of my parents’ house after Mass, as the rest of my family goes to a party until early morning. Last I heard, this may be changing- and that’s sad to me. After a few full family days, I usually enjoy the quiet, still house, twinkling tree, Christmas movies, hot cocoa and pizza.Lol…

- On Christmas morning (er, afternoon, depending on how late my family is out the night before) all of us wake up to a candy cane at the foot of our bed.

- Before we go downstairs to catch sight of the tree, a frumpy picture is taken of all of us on the stairs.

- Once we are downstairs, we can open our stockings and the little gifts inside, but nothing else.

- When it is time to open gifts, we go one at a time. With 9 people, gift opening literally takes most of the day.

- During the gift opening, we snack on bishop’s bread and coffeecake. Later in the day, there are meatballs and/or leftovers ready and waiting in the kitchen.

That’s my Christmas, what is yours like?

Merry Christmas everyone!