Thank God, I got tagged.

Thank you Christie, for tagging me! Seriously. One post so far this week. I have been slacking. Or I have been working "second shift" 1-8pm doing parent/teacher conferences - which totally cut into my blogging time. Either way, I was in need of something to post. So here it is.

Here's how you play: Go to the fourth folder in your photos library and pick the fourth photo in that album and post it. I have two photo libraries - one on my hard drive and one within Memory Manager. So I did both.

This first photo was found on my hard drive in a folder called, "Carnival."

This is a picture of Quinn riding some up and down ride thingy at a carnival we went to with his two cousins. He's sitting right next to Bethany, but his favorite cousin, Henry, is on the other side. After the ride Henry was mad that he didn't end up sitting next to Quinn. Had this game asked for the fifth photo you would totally see Quinn's face - he was scared to death, at least that's what it looked like to me. He never screamed, never cried, but did say, "Let's not do that ride again." And he continued to try other rides.

The second picture took a little longer to get to, because it involved sort boxes and stuff found in Memory Manager. This was found in a folder titled, "Brothers", which was found in a sort box titled "Liam", which was found in a sort box titled "Family". And even though it wasn't a picture - I figured since it is what was in my photo library I'd post it.



This was Nov. 1, 2007, about a month before Quinn turned 3 years old.

Thanks for tagging me Christie - I needed something to do - and then finding that video really made my day!

And now I'll tag four people:
Sue
Amy
VDog
Leah and Dan
And if you want to do it as well - leave me a comment and I'll come see!

Happy Monday!

Weekly Winners - 1/25/09

If you want to see some amazing pictures of our dog flying in the snow, be sure to check out this post. There were too many great ones of him flying through the air to include in the weekly winners!

He can fly!

The weather finally warmed up a bit and we all went outside to play. Almost every single picture I took of this dog captured him in mid-air. Amazing. He is so athletic.





And yes, if you're in a read you're going to have to come on over and see these pictures. It's worth it, trust me!

Oh yes he did.

He did it again.

That's right. This time we had some warning. He kept talking about it before the bath, but never actually did anything about it. 'Til he was in there. Then it happened.

A quick evacuation, some cleaning, and it was time to get back in there and get that boy clean!

You'd think I'd dread bath time, but how could I? Look at this face!

It's Monday...Smile! Or pretend you're someone else.

I am Spiderman!
My name is not Quinn.
My name is Spiderman!
You're Superman!
I am Spiderman!
Let's go get those bad guys!
Ready?

Weekly Winners - 1/18/09

My Winter - In Numbers

-14 degrees is the predicted low for tomorrow (without wind chill)
-13 degrees is what it feels like outside (wind chill)
-2 degrees is the predicted high for tomorrow (without wind chill)
0 days without heat
0 times my car has not started or broken down
1 new snow-thrower purchased
1 school days canceled because of the snow
2 times my car has been hit by another car
2 baggies of snacks I keep in the car at all times for the boys for when we get struck in traffic
3 ice scrappers broken
3 bottles of water I keep in the car - just in case
3 pairs of snow pants I keep in the car - just in case
5 degrees outside right now
7 pairs mittens and/or gloves I own - none of which keep my fingers warm enough
8 pairs of mittens that belong to Quinn and Liam - 4 of which I know where they are
10 days of the sun peeking through the clouds since December 1st
13 cups of hot cocoa I've had the past 2 weeks
19 days snow has fallen from the sky since December 1st
23 inches of snow has fallen so far
30 more days until I get away for a weekend here
600 posts I've written here

*Please notice it's not all bad. I'm trying to remind myself just how lucky I am. I've got a fairly short commute, a car that continues to work for me, a husband to shovel or plow the driveway, neighbors that help (we came home to a cleared driveway today), a job that will cancel if it's really too bad to drive, a warm house, hot cocoa, blankets, slippers, slipper socks, pajama pants, and more. I think what I need right now is some sun, some Vitamin D, some more energy please!

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a relaxing weekend!

Weekly Winners - 1/11/09

If you're in a reader I think you'll need to come on over to see my weekly winners posted via pictobrowser. We got our new camera delivered Friday afternoon - and a huge snow storm passed through Friday night and Saturday - so I've got lots of snow pictures!



Also - I think I really need to get an external flash - all those shadows with the kids are driving me crazy.

Decisions. Just make one.

So once we decided that we'd be purchasing a new camera and snow-thrower I very quickly made my decision, located the camera, and purchased it. It arrive here Friday afternoon just in time for the second big snow storm of this winter.

Mike has spent all week and continues to change his mind about which snow-thrower he wants, or if he even wants one. He finally stopped at the store on his way home Friday only to find that the one that he finally decided on was out of stock. Now he's thinking about going back to get the one that was in stock. If it's still there.

It should go without saying that my excitement over all this beautiful snow we're getting is wearing a little thin on Mike who keeps looking out the window and muttering under his breath.

I Will Not Eat Them.

Green Eggs and Ham

a few slices left over ham
2 eggs
a little bit of milk
lime green food coloring

Warm up the ham in the microwave
Mix two eggs, milk, and food coloring in small bowl
Pour mixture into heated pan
Scramble mixture
Serve with ham
Enjoy

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Throughout December when asked what Santa said, Liam would reply, "Ho ho!" I don't know why it bothered me so that he didn't add that last "ho!" but it did. So we continued to try to teach him this very important phrase.



Mission accomplished. Also - notice that he has NO interest in opening any gifts once he found that broom? He still loves that broom.

Impulsive Shopping

Remember a few weeks ago I bragged about all the things I didn't buy at Costco? Well, that Nikon D60 has been tempting me for months now. Every time I walk into Costco there it is - right at the entrance - all boxed up and ready to go. And from what I could tell, a pretty good deal - the camera, two lenses, a camera bag, and a memory card all for $700. But I have this issue with spending money, especially when we already have a decent camera.

Then, just after the New Year Mike got his profit sharing check from his company. Mike has warned me that this will be the last profit sharing check for a few years, because the last few months of 2008 have been slow. Anyway, right away I'm thinking of all the ways to spend the money - camera! snowblower! laser surgery! drop the kids off at Grandma's and head to Vegas! or California! Wii! WiiFit! And right away Mike wants to put it into savings to save up for a second home. (as a side note - as we were discussing our new found wealth Quinn pipes in, "Let's go back to Disney World now!")

Our final conclusion was that we would spend a small portion of it - purchase a new camera and a snow-blower. Both things we've been wanting for a few years now. (We were also thinking of buying Wii, but really, do we need it? Not really. I promised myself I wouldn't get the boy's video games until they were older - like 8 or 9 or something.) The rest of the money will be going into a separate savings account (separate from our checking and other saving's accounts) and will begin a collection for our vacation home.

And although I already knew what kind of camera I wanted - I wanted to ask others just to make sure. I was happy to find that it was listed on Steve's Digicams website as one of the "best cameras". I was also happy to hear from a few of you that you either have that camera or one similar. The consensus seemed to be, that no matter what, I'd be happy with either the Nikon or the Canon, but that I need an SLR (this we knew).

And so today I braved the snow and the toddler and headed out to Costco while Quinn was at preschool. Anxious as all heck to get myself a new camera. I walked in the door looking for what has tempted me my last 5 visits.




And it wasn't there.










No worries, though. I just ordered it online!

Happy Monday!

See... we don't just spend our time making him cry.

Weekly Winners - 1/4/09

Also - I'm looking for a little advice. These were taken with our old camera. Our NON-SLR camera. And now it seems I can go get a new camera. Any suggestions? We're trying to stay under $1000. My main problem with this old camera is that the flash washes out the people - and without it I can't capture the picture. Does that make sense?

House of Pain

A few weeks ago Quinn and I made (or rather decorated a pre-made) gingerbread house. It was all ooh and ahh and beautiful.



We made Quinn wait until after Christmas to start picking at the pieces. Because we're mean like that and there's nothing better than very stale candy.



Finally, a few days after Christmas Mike busted it up.



And Liam was pissed.



The end.

Where I've Been

So, I joined facebook and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. On one hand, I much prefer it to MySpace. And so far, I don't like it as much as twitter.
What I have been liking about facebook is the ability to be a snoop about what people are doing now - people I went to high school with, college, etc. It's amazing to me how many of my friends are still doing what they loved way back when - a lot of my band friends are still making music - and I find that amazing. And I don't mean in their basement - they're in bands playing in clubs, or they're teaching, or playing professionally. It makes me a little jealous, but trust me, I was never as good as these guys and girls. Just jealous that I'm not hanging out with them making up songs. But I suppose, I shouldn't be too jealous - I still make up songs - about pooping, eating, cleaning, going to bed, taking baths, putting coats on, ANYTHING really - it would just be fun to have some of my old friends here jamming on the piano or something.
Anyway - I'm at a point now where I'm not sure how much to share or where to share it. It's easy for me to twitter some thoughts out there - knowing that the people reading it I've never met face to face. Do I really need those updates on my facebook too? Do these old friends of mine need to know? Want to know? Care to know? Should I try to keep it seperate. twitter with new "online" friends - facebook for old "IRL" friends?
And then there's this here blog. A link from facebook to here - some poking around - and you'll learn I spent way too much time holding crushes on two guys from my high school. Was it you? Probably not - I haven't yet found those two guys on facebook - and I'm not sure I want to.
I guess what I'm trying to understand is this:
Why is it so much easier to share my thoughts and feelings with "strangers" or a few close friends then it is to share with everyone I've ever known? It seems as though I'm back in high school - trying to impress - trying to hide some things - trying to make it seem as though everything is great - trying to uphold my reputation - trying to understand exactly what reputation I had.

Happy 2009!

I will not be making any goals this year. Since last year I did and I only accomplished 1 out of the 4.

I will, however, give you a list of things I LOVED doing in 2008:

1. trip to Disney - of course
2. Cubs Games - my first game was early in the summer then I went again
3. Watching Quinn get to be so smart.
4. Watching Liam grow out of his picky eater phase - learning to relax about his development.
5. ice skating lessons (for me - they were fun!)

What I WANT to do in 2009:

1. trip to AZ with my mom and sister to visit my aunts and grandma (tickets are purchased)
2. Sox Game - my south side roots are calling me
3. Blogher in Chicago, baby!
4. swim lessons with Liam
5. agility classes with Tucker!

There. That should be much more doable, don't you think!?