Who'se the mom around here?

This week has been a bit chaotic around here. For someone who is a *tad bit* organizationally challenged and a *wee bit* fly by the seat of my pants, I require a surprisingly large bit of routine in my life to keep me sane. A holiday week detracts from that. As does a mildly out of whack 10 month old. Seems as though Turner has a touch of an intestinal something or other as the childcare workers at the Y had to pull me out of my spinning class yesterday (2 poopy diapers in less than 45 minutes) and after 5 minutes on the elliptical machine (and 5 minutes into A Baby Story on TLC by-the-way) for a poop blow out that caused some angst in the childcare room. We got him cleaned up and they let me finish my workout!!! By the time I showered up and picked him and Olivia up there had been 2 more poops and 1 waiting for me when we arrived home.

Are you kidding me, dude? Give a mama a break here. But for sure something is outta whack when he didn't touch lunch and refused drinking milk. He has no fever, a runny nose but seems to be playing just fine. Until lunch time. He's just whiny, snotty and a bit grumpy. He seems pretty fine if I hold him and snuggle him. Sure signs something is not right. These days he could care less if I hold him- he wants to be on the move.

Turner and O were playing in the kitchen at this Leap Frog music toy when all of a sudden he lost his balance, toppled over and hit his head pretty good on the tile kitchen floor (I would have suspected foul play from one older sister had I not been an eye-witness). I swooped him up, gave him a ton of kisses and hoped the ear popping screams would end soon (not nearly as loud as the screams that came from yesterday's bloody nose, but that's for a different entry.) As I was trying to console him, Olivia came running from the kitchen and said, "Shouldn't we pray for him, mom?"

Duh, prayer, I hadn't thought of that one! I immediately teared up. My soon to be 3 year old was pointing me back to Jesus. And I'll tell you, after this week, somebody sure needs to regardless of their age! Let's just say I've been operating on auto pilot and it hasn't been working out so great.

How sweet to have your daughter want to ask Jesus to help her little brother! She said, "I'll hold your hand." So I prayed for Turner and for myself and thanked God for such an amazingly sweet gift in the middle of a "poopy" day!

happy birthday, bebe!

We are so glad today is your birthday (if you don't believe us, just look at our faces!)

Ah, yeah, these are actually the best of the bunch. Let's just say these two were not the most cooperative when it came to holding birthday banners and smiling.


Tinkerbell wanted to say she loves you and that it's your birthday, you should wear a crown (just not hers!)

We hope that your day is fun and that it is going better than ours (bloody noses, nasty poops and crayon on the wall- thanks Turner.) We can't wait to see you on Saturday and celebrate you then. There will be toys, cake, crowns and gifts waiting.

Hurry up Saturday!!!!

Let me introduce you...

to my new love~!

I promise that this is not just a simple ploy to entice the fine people at Hostess to dump a truckload of 100 Calorie pack cupcakes at my doorstep as a thank you for my huge endorsement of their product to my 26 readers!!! (although, if they did, who am I to stop them?)

Since joining Weight Watchers, I have been on a quest to feed my sweet tooth with delicious yet low cal treats. Early on I found these 100 calorie pack cupcakes (in chocolate) and LOVE them. If you know WW speak, finding out that they are only one point should be music to your ears. Three yummy cupcakes for only one point! (That means I could eat nine of them to equal a fun size Snickers bar... but I digress.)

Yesterday at the store I happened upon a new flavor- Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing and Creamy Filling. Yeah, baby, these are the bomb! I'm usually not a fan of fruity flavors (I'd take chocolate over strawberry any day) but even I need to switch up my routine now and then and thought I'd check it out. Well, I'm a believer! I may like them even better than the chocolate ones .

Anyhoo.... if you are in the market for a portion controlled treat, I HIGHLY recommend testing these out. If you've got any secret gems, let me know about 'em, I'd love to try!

Football fan???

If you live in my neck of the woods, you are very well aware that this past weekend was the much awaited and anticipated Buckeyes vs. Wolverines game. Because I am married to an avid Ohio State fan, I too root for the Scarlet and Grey. But I'm not sure how deep my allegiances run.

Here are a few things that I discovered this weekend:

Football for me is about 3 quarters too long!

This late November game is best seen from my warm sofa, with good friends and yummy snacks

Stadium hot dogs are $4.50 (and 1/4 lb!!!!) 1/4 lb. hot dog???? Wow- I'm speechless.

Grown men wear floor length fur coats to stadiums. RIDICULOUS

You really can be THAT COLD and still survive. (It finally warmed up to a balmy 28 degrees.)

Some how we were able to manage a smile, even though I could no longer feel my toes, despite wearing my beloved Ugg boots. (That one was for you, Erin!)

So, Buckeye fans left satisfied with another victory (one guy behind us even took a picture of the scoreboard for his Christmas cards because apparently nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus" like a Michigan massacre!) and perhaps just a bit empty at the realization that what they had been living for all season is over and now they begin looking ahead to next season. As for me, it's a good thing that American Idol is so much more fulfilling!

Move over Martha

There's a new girl in the kitchen!

It's dang cold here and although I'm not a fan of playing outside in the sweltering heat, it beats being couped up all winter. So, I've been trying to come up with some indoor activities. I think I just remembered how I came to find myself at Weight Watchers in the first place.

Olivia and I baked our first batch of cookies together. It was actually a ton of fun. She did great at putting the butter in the bowl, pouring flour in and watching the Kitchen Aide mix it all up. The whole while, she only licked her hands 1/2 dozen times and sneezed "near" the ingredients once. (Mental note, if you're ever offered dessert at my house and you come to find O has helped out, you may want to think twice.)


Her favorite part? Take a wild stab at it. Although it was fun having a baking buddy (my favorite thing to do at the holidays) I realized I'm not the only one who wants to lick the spoon. Motherhood- a daily choice to die to yourself (and steal a lick or two while your assistant isn't looking.)

What does Turner do while the girls do "woman's work?" What does any boy do? He banges pots and pans REALLY loud and breaks stuff. I figure as long as he's not actually in the oven, we're good to go.

One of these days he may even get to sample some fruits of the labor (then I figure any and all chances of me getting a lick off that spoon are gone.)

Oh, PS- thanks for leaving comments and letting me know you're reading this thing. That was really fun for me. Feel free to keep on checkin in!

Odds and Ends

Of all days to leave my camera at home (and right after I bragged about how no one is safe now that I am blogger extraordinaire blah blah blah). Steve was away for work today so I was trying to think of some fun ways to kill the day (oops, was that out loud?) I heard on the radio yesterday that the Radio City Rockettes were going to be at the mall this afternoon between 4pm and 5pm. Perfect way for a 2 year old diva to spend the post-nap funk time of the day.

Poor Turner first had to endure a short jaunt to Victoria's Secret (excuse me! I'm not that indiscreet as to share ALL my nitty gritty.) If you must know, I got a gift card for a free pair of underwear and $10 off any bra in the store... but I digress... Turner behaved just like a man would in there. Unlike his usually content and ridiculously adorable self, he protested the whole time. But wait T-bone, there's more! Next we pull on up to the "Christmas Cottage" at the mall where the Rockettes were signing autographs. O was mesmerized, yet instantly mute.

To their credit, the Rockettes (I hate to keep referring them as the Rockettes- there were only 2 of them, but I'm at a loss for something more creative) were super sweet with her. It would have made an awesome picture and I'm sure someday she would have thought it was pretty cool. But I didn't even have my phone w/ me to snap a shot with that. What a loser mom moment. So she just stared for a couple of minutes, they signed an autograph for her and off we went.

Oh yeah, and T wasn't screaming any more. But let's just say he was more interested in the guy emptying the garbage can (true story) than he was the dancing girls. I know I know, give him a few years and he'll trade in garbage for girls, but I'M in no rush.

Totally unrelated- we got a letter back from the Senator yesterday. No luck on help with expediting our form. BUT they did send us a copy of an email from CIS basically saying that if we documented the fact that China would not supply us with the required letter, that was good enough. (You know I'll be keeping that in a fireproof lock box "just in case.") I feel a peace about that and also feel real good about pursuing extra avenues.

Finally, here is a plea for some work on your part. I'd love to find out who is reading this thing... or if anyone is (Buehler, Buehler). Through out my week I'll catch an occasional random "I read your blog" or "I heard you've got a blog" but I'd love to get a roll call of sorts. Just for fun and just to satisfy my curiosity. Of course, don't feel obligated... just know I'd be encouraged to think someone other than my mom and Jenny read this thing :) Have I just blown all blog etiquette by requesting comments? How needy is THAT? Oh well, I can live with it.

Hell has frozen over!

How do I know? Because I actually got this coupon thing to work for me this weekend!

Please indulge me as I brag about my endeavor.

Thanks to my mom teaming up with me and sending me her coupons, I now have twice the opportunity to screw up. However, this weekend I scrounged up my coupons and headed off to Target where I knew I'd have some luck w/ some kick-butt Glade deals, but what I forgot was thanks to my wheeling and dealing there earlier in the week (Dunkin Doughnuts coffee was on sale and after buying 3, I got a $5 gift card as well as another transaction kicking me back yet another $5 gift card) I had $10 in Target gift cards. So I was able to buy all of this:

1Glade flame less candle

2Glade scented oil candles

3Glade scented oil refills

2Glade scented candles

1 pair of socks for O

1 box of 36 electrical outlet plugs

For $7. BUT WAIT---- I got another $5 Target gift card (I'm not exactly sure what for, but it most certainly had to do w/ the Glade products.) So really, I got all this stuff for $2 and some change. Hallelujah!

So, I'm ready for battle. But horror of horrors: we rolled in yesterday evening after being in Toledo for the weekend and as we went past our house I realized there was no Sunday paper waiting for us. "Steve, did you cancel our paper???" Panic! "Yeah." What the heck??? We weren't even out of town 48 hours and he cancelled the dang paper. So, I'm sure I'm gonna miss out on some kind of sweet deal. Let's keep an eye on this, I may be headed straight for an addiction to coupons. Thanks a lot, Jenny!

creep o meter

Does anyone else find this image slightly disturbing? Just wondering.

I'm not sure if it's the very creepy smile on the guys' faces (particularly Matt's- the guy in the middle) or them all cozy on a light blue plaid couch, but for sure the hair on my arms rose just a wee bit as I was deleting pictures on my camera and thought this one to be blog worthy. (FYI, this picture was taken at dinner before our walk on the Underground Railroad the other week.) See previous post for the more profound part of the evening. Now that I'm blogging, you better know if there is an interesting picture to be taken- I'm gonna take it. Watch your backs, people, watch your backs!

cross your fingers.

Last week was an interesting adoption week. As we wait on our I-797C form (the final one to complete our dossier) I head from our social worker some discouraging news. She said that since April (when they re-vamped the system) there have been 1130 requests for this form (meaning there was an application, a home study and FBI fingerprints to be reviewed. If all checks out and no mistakes or discrepancies anywhere are found) you get the I-797C returned to you. The wait time on that is 90 days (or so they say.) Our social worker also told me that of those 1130 only 198 have been approved- the rest have been kicked back for changes OR they have yet to be reviewed.

Discouraging for sure. I'm fine to wait and I truly believe in God's timing. However, my fear is that after these 90 days, they'll discover that the now infamous (at least on this blog) China letter is not included, therefore, kicking it back to us, holding things up and delaying us perhaps another 90 days. Big bummer, because China expects us to have our dossier completed within 3 months of our referral (and the clock is ticking on that bad boy.)

So after hearing some other adoption stories and at the advice of a friend who "heard" (thanks Traci!) this may work: I contacted our Senator's office last Wednesday to see if there is any way his office can help expediate the process. Something that felt like a bit of a stretch for me. I am a total rule follower. I am also fearful of pestering or being a real pain in the arse! But then it occurred to me, if Steve and I are not fighting for Quinn, there is nobody else on this planet who will. That felt like motherly instincts kicking in for sure. If Turner or Olivia needed anything, you better believe Steve and I would turn our lives upside down to get it done.

I put a call into the office, they had us fill out a information release form and Steve faxed it in. Ellen, in Voinovich's office is hopefully contacting CIS to at least find out if we have all the info correct on our application. Pray that God will move a mountain this week. While it feels "unfair" for us to pursue cutting in line, it also feels unfair to just sit here while Quinn sits in an orphanage while he has a family waiting here for him. Looks like we're in for more of this wild adventure!

what's in a name?

I'm sitting here enjoying my morning cup of Dunkin Doughnut's Cinnamon joe, catching up on my blogs and I just heard Olivia running around the kitchen saying, "Lucifer, where are you Lucifer?" I'm pretty sure that my 2 1/2 year old little girls SHOULD NOT be looking for the devil in my kitchen!!!

Then I heard "C'mon Lucifer, let's go." O was following Baxter around the kitchen and they were going to "visit puppies." (??? who knows, she's 2!!)

I laughed out loud for a few seconds. Just to clear the air- we do not talk about Lucifer on a regular basis around here; but if you have a daughter under the age of 9 you may trace the Lucifer reference back to the cat in Cinderella. (Nice Disney, why couldn't you have named the cat fluffy or something?) But to further clear the air, Lucifer is a highly appropriate name for our dog and the irony coming from 2 year old lips is staggering. Oh, but I'll put it out there again, if anyone is in the market for a 5 year old Springer Spaniel, Lucifer (I mean Baxter) would be a great fit for your home!

While hunting for a bargain...

I've managed to spend my whole monthly budget already! And it's only the 11th of the month. Ack.

Well, I've been known to exaggerate, and perhaps spending my WHOLE monthly budget by now is a wee bit of an exaggeration. But after yesterday's trip to CVS to "make me some money" I may be ready to throw in the towel. My coupon mentor set me up to have some major success this week. She even gave me some of her own coupons, told me exactly what to buy and when to buy it and told me there was a profit to be made (there was a 2 day sale going on and as long as I made it to CVS by Monday, I was good to go.)

I don't know about where you live, but here in Ohio, yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far. I may have even seen a small flurry in the air. Because we were already out and about I thought I may as well give this making money thing by buying stuff a try. My quest led me (and my 2 kiddos) to THREE different CVS locations. Does that qualify me for obsessed? I'm actually a little ashamed to put that in writing. Oh well.

Why 3 locations? They were out of the stuff that would add to my kids' inheritance at all three stores. It's like gamblers who just know if they had "one more quarter" they would hit the winning jackpot lineup on the slot machine (um... or so I've heard) I just knew that if I went to one more location, they'd have a bottle of that anti-aging serum that was "free" and w/ Jenny's coupons would make me two bucks. I only spent about $15 in gas. So I figure I'm only down about $13. Oooo, well there's also that other little mistake; the $3 I lost by buying the wrong size water that was also suppose to be free- twice. (Mind you I bought the wrong size during 2 different transactions.) Making me doubly moronic.

All I know is, CVS is loving me.

Oh and I guess I should mention that I also gave Kroger another go-round this week as they were continuing that fabulous 10/10 match up where they would give me the $5 coupon. This time, I managed to make it to 10. You can do that up to 3 time (meaning if you buy 30 of the products, they'll give you $15 off.) The only glitch- you have to buy the products in increments of 10... so my 18 products didn't qualify me for $10 (only the $5.) What a waste. So I guess were actually down about $40 from my money saving efforts. If Steve doesn't kill me for my efforts, I'm quite convinced this marriage thing is really gonna work out.

I'll stick with it one more week and then I'm going to take up a much more inexpensive hobby: like International Adoption!

Widget

Expanding my horizons.

I'm trying something new here. This SEAL album seems pretty sweet. Give it a listen :)

Walk in another man's shoes

Steve and I, along with several of our dearest friends, did one of the coolest things I've done in a long time. Saturday night we went on a 2 hour (freezing cold) hike along part of what was most probably the Underground Railroad back in the 1840's. At first I was a bit skeptical and really not looking forward to being out in the cold. But thanks to my new Old Navy hat and scarf and my beloved Ugg boots, I stayed pretty toasty.

The hike started off with a bit of direction from the metro park ranger, informing us that we were to "get into character" as a group of slaves making our way from the South up to Canada. They also informed us the reason there was an age restriction (no one under the age of 13 was permitted on the hike) was because for the next 2 hours we were going to be treated as if we were truly slaves on the run, including bounty hunters who would be after us. Along the way would be "conductors" who wanted to help us and teach us about our journey.

I really took this to heart. I was convinced part of the hike would be bounty hunters jumping out of the woods and perhaps choose some of our group to go with them. That element made it so real to me. Every snap of a twig or movement of leaves left my heart pounding. At one point during the hike, our group had stopped to hear from one of the "conductors" and I looked around and couldn't find Steve. I was sure he had been nabbed. Finally, I found him behind another in our group. It was so dark that night, we could barely see anything without the help of the 2 lanterns in the group.

At the end of the hike, I was overwhelmed by what the slaves really truly had to go through to gain their freedom. We had a mini glimpse into their journey, but shame on me- I had my Uggs, my Old Navy hat and scarf and all my other warm clothes and I was still complaining. For the past few days my mind has wandered back to Saturday night's experience. I can't shake what price those men, women and children had to pay for freedom that should have rightfully been theirs. Such a timely event too, on the heels of this historic election. Although I said I was not going to reveal who I voted for, lets just say there are some issues that I am quite opposed to with our President-elect. But this hike really helped me to see past those to at least appreciate the incredible milestone electing our first black President really is. I'm sure those men and women whose steps I walked in on Saturday night would have NEVER in a million years dreamt they would see a man of their skin color leading this country. And for that I can celebrate.

Sale Alert!

Old Navy is having a SWEET sale today (and maybe tomorrow, I'm not really sure.) Polar fleece hats and scarves are $1. ONE DOLLAR. Crazy. There is a limit of 6 per customer. The sale also includes 50% off all outerwear. I got myself a winter coat for $45 and a winter coat for Turner for $21. There were also polar fleece kids/baby hat & mitten sets for $2.

I walked out of the store w/ 2 winter coats, 2 polar fleece hats, 1 scarf, 2 kids hat/mitten sets, 2 pairs of winter jammies and 3 pairs of sandels for the kids for next summer all for $113. Not too shabby. So get your buns over there and save yourself some money. Tons of other deals going on (great for Christmas gifts) but my kids were melting down and we had to get outta there. Let me know if you make it and what you score.

I just can't keep up!

I mean, really!

I got a call from our adoption agency this afternoon. To be honest, when I saw the caller ID I got a bit nervous. I'm such a pessimist, my first thought was something had happened to Quinn or bad news blah blah blah. Well, they were calling to let us know that we have received our Pre-Approval. (That's PA in adoption speak.) To be honest, I have not even looked ahead to see what the next steps are. So I just laughed and said, "Are you kidding?" Melissa on the other line laughed too. She said, "I know, I was looking at your file and to be honest, I can't believe you guys got this already."

I went on the agency website to find out what the next steps are and found out that it usually takes 3-7 weeks to get the PA after your letter of intent is sent (we sent that last Friday.) Our dossier is still 2 months away from being finished. (I did ask if that would be a problem for us, now that we have our PA) She said we can always file for an extension.

Okay, so I looked ahead and the website said that once our dossier is locked in (hopefully by January) it may take 2-4 months to get our Travel Approval. That is the *BIGGIE*. That is the one that makes this whole thing official and from there you apply for a travel visa, make arrangements etc. So there is really, truly a chance Quinn will be home late spring, early summer. Wow. I feel like we've been doing adoption on steroids. Seriously, I can barely keep up with all of this. I just can't wait to kiss those chubby little cheeks!

My new hobby-

CVS-ing. Shopping doesn't count as a new hobby, you say? Okay, you got me there- but saving money while doing so- that's where I've got you on a technicality.

My friend, Jenny, is tutoring me through the new territory of couponing. (And taking a picture of your bargains and posting it on your blog is what "we couponers" do apparently.) It's a bit Stepford wives-ish, but I'll play along :) I can't really take credit for coming up with this pretty good stash- I got a little help.

You see, yesterday I thought I'd strut my stuff in Kroger where they were having this 10/10 deal and you got a $5 register coupon for the next time you shop. No sweat, got on line and got me some help from some bloggers who know. (They do it all for 'ya. Even an IDIOT should be able to steal from THE MAN.) I was pretty confident and pretty excited to tell Steve about how much we saved and even the couple of "FREE" items I was able to nab w/ my couponing expertise. Well.... let's just say it didn't go so well and I spent some money on some stuff we didn't need, got the wrong sized boxes of a couple (5) items that were suppose to count for my 10... thus NOT qualifying me for my $5 coupon NOR getting me the special sales price on the other items. I cried all the way home and called my mom who needed to talk me off the ledge. With my tail between my legs, I took a bag full of unwanted items back to Kroger today to get my money back and will try again next time.

But here it the GOOD news. Everything in the picture I got for $20 out of pocket and I also got $8.50 in ECB (which is my new lingo for money that I can use next time at CVS.) So I guess that means I'm hooked into CVS and will keep going so that I can keep getting more free money. Steve sees it a *little* bit differently, but I'm thinking once I get this thing down and actually start saving us money- he'll come around. Jenny swears by it and is a patient and helpful tutor. Check out her blog if you are interested in joining the cult (I mean bandwagon.) The link to her blog is to the left and is called Mommin' It Up.

Quinn Jian Koproski

We've decided on a name. Quinn. I thought of it almost immediately when we heard his Chinese name. It sounds similar and to me that's important. (I didn't know it would be.) Before we had a referral we were tossing around Taylor if it was a girl and Chase for a boy. But after learning what his special need was, after thinking more comprehensively, we thought maybe it wouldn't be a great idea to give a kid a name with an "s" in it if he will potentially need speech therapy or require orthodontia. Quinn just seemed right. We will keep Jian as his middle name. Both of the other kids' middle names have family meaning (Ann= my mom's middle name and Paul after both of our grandfathers.) So Jian keeps him linked to his Chinese heritage= family meaning.

And can't you just picture him sitting in his first day of first grade as the teacher reads out the names- Koproski? She scans the room for some polak kid and he raises his hand? For some reason, that really tickles my funny bone. (Unless he comes home crying about it, then it won't be so funny. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it!)

People have asked about our time frame. Great question! Currently we are waiting for our I-797C form. I actually emailed them and asked if there was any way to expedite our form. A real nice lady emailed me back and politely told me no. Oh, well, doesn't hurt to ask. So we may have about 2 more months of waiting for that. Once that is returned, we can send in our dossier. From there it may be about another 5 months wait. So generally, we are looking at traveling to China to bring Quinn home late spring, early summer. Weird timing since Steve is planning on going over for 10 days this summer to lead a trip for college students. Everyone is asking if we can double up and make it a 2 for 1 trip. Probably not. We really aren't even considering that craziness. We are gluttons for punishment, but even we have our limits.

We are praying that miraculously we'll get the I-797C form sooner than expected. In general, we trust in the perfect timing. But emotionally, it is hard to imagine our little boy day in and day out not a part of our family. Adoption is a really amazing and really weird thing. It is almost hard to put into words, but I'm trying!

What's Grosser than Gross?

Gross= having mice in your house. (You would think that living downtown would mean no field mice but whenever it gets the least bit chilly in the fall, we find little friends who leave little black presents here and there.)

Grosser than gross= finding those little black presents in your baby's room.

What's grosser than ALL of that? Catching F-I-V-E of those friends in a trap right under your 9 month old son's crib. ACK. Makes my skin crawl. I've been unable to sleep for several weeks with terrible images in my mind (use your imagination, I certainly have.) Naturally, Turner seems unphased by the whole thing.

The other day (after #3 was caught) Steve declared, "I think we got 'em all. I'm pretty sure that the word on the street is that 'their is on to us.' " Yeah, so much for the word on the street. So join me as I say an extra prayer each night for no bad dreams AND for no more mice.

And I'm proud to be an American...

Where at least I eat for free!

Yep, that's right, I am shamelessly taking advantage of any and all freebies today. I love election day. It feels like a holiday to me. And since I've caught wind of many fine food establishments jumping on board with free give-aways to anyone with a voting sticker; I have decided to eat my way through the day (please don't tell my Weight Watcher's leader.) So for lunch the kids and I headed to Chic-fil-A for my free chicken sandwich. They even threw in the "two crucial pickles." After naps, we just may head over to Starbucks for a free cup 'o joe. And if I can convince Steve, there might be a star shaped Krispie Kreme doughnut for dessert tonight. Sounds glutinous, doesn't it? America ain't the fattest nation in the world for nothin!

Oh yeah, and about that voting thing... well I did my patriotic privilege and cast my ballot. And just in case you and I don't see eye to eye on politics, I'm keeping my vote to myself (at least on this blog!) but there is something to be said for firmly believing in a Sovereign God- regardless of who comes out ahead tonight. (But you may venture a guess. I don't think it would be a shocker to anyone who knows me.) I have to say, after living in a communist country for three year, I really do appreciate our right to vote. It is a major blessing and one that I do not take lightly. And I really enjoyed getting to take the kids with me. All O cared about were the Princess fruit snacks she got to eat while I voted, but irregardless, I hope they see the example Steve and I try and put before them (someday!)

And in case you are wondering what is so interesting off in the distance that has captured BOTH of their attention... here it is. A bull dozer moving some dirt. I tried for about 3 minutes to get their attention. A mommy just can't compete with heavy machinery.

God Bless America.

(And by the way, my voting line, in Ohio-- 3 people= 12 minutes. There really are some advantages to being a stay at home mom and getting to vote at 10:22 am.)

daylight depression

Maybe I'm the only one, but turning our clocks back DEPRESSES me. This happens to be Steve's favorite day of the year (yet again, a way we differ.) He claims he can do a million things with that extra hour. And then I remind him we have 2 kids that prevent us from using the current hours we have wisely, let alone this "so-called" extra hour (which I happen to believe is a pharse anyhow.)

What do we get in return? Sunset at 4:30 in the afternoon! In fact, I'm looking at my clock right now (3:40) and I'm looking at the shadows in the house across the street and Im thinking there is now way I can muster up excitement for this "fall back." I'm 36 years old and have been doing this for sometime so it comes as no suprise. It takes me about a week to stop complaining, get with the program and then start looking forward to the middle of January when there starts to be some hope around the corner of the days lengthening. At least this year at our house we don't have the double whammy of short days AND a new born. There is something to be said for timing things up to have a baby in the spring or summer!