Weekend in Michigan

A few weeks ago we took a 4-day weekend to go see our friends in Michigan. Last July when we went to visit we stayed at Joe and Jen's house, but they just had their first baby and we brought the kids, so this time we spent three nights in a king room at a brand new Hampton. There was a golf center a few blocks from our hotel so one day we took the kids to play their first game of mini-golf. Jordis got a hole-in-one on the second hole. It was really hot and humid that day, but we had a fun time.

We also did a lot of eating. Joe and Jen have some friends who own a little cafe, and we had a great lunch there. I had a turkey sandwich that was made on cranberry bread with a homemade cranberry orange mayonnaise. It came with some wonderful homemade coleslaw. I went in there not very hungry and ended up eating my whole sandwich, coleslaw, Jason's coleslaw and a dill pickle or two. They also make homemade desserts and sent the kids home with some brownies. We also ate at Strawberry Fields which is a place Joe and Jen took us to for breakfast last year. I had some really good hasbrowns with bacon, peppers, onions and cheese, along with some strawberry soup. Great combination, huh?

One day, Joe took Jason and Xander out in their boat on Lake St. Clair, while Jen and I took Jordis shopping for a little girl time. She was so excited to sit next to the baby in the car. She gave him his pacifier if it fell out of his mouth, and she entertained him with his toys. We went to an outdoor mall and I bought Jordis an ice cream cone at the Nestle store.

I also let her pick out a special treat from the gourmet dog bakery to bring back home for Bubba. She thought he'd like a s'more.

Back at Joe and Jen's house the rest of us became chopped liver as Jordis spent the evening tending to the baby. She was all up in his business at diaper change, helped give him a bath, held him, fed him, and gave him a thumbs up when he seemed happy in his swing. She thought we should bring home one of these baby things for our house, until I told her the play room would turn into the office if that happened. She wasn't so sure after that.

On our last day we went swimming in the amazing heated hotel pool and then took the kids back to the outdoor mall for dinner at Max & Erma's. It was the nicest Max & Erma's we've ever been to, which is surprising since their corporate offices are here in Columbus. The kids were excited about their take-home cups and I gave them some coins for the fountain. It was a nice end to a great weekend.

The blame game

Jordis was playing quietly in the toy room yesterday, which does not usually draw suspicion like it would if Xander were being quiet. But I thought I would join her so I went down the hall to see what she was up to.

That's when I found some of my photo albums strewn about the floor.

I asked her if she was using mommy's books without permission and she said "no" in the sweet little voice she uses when she bats her long dark eyelashes. So I asked her how the books got out since she was the only one in there.

Her reply?

"My baby did it."

This baby.

Though it does appear that she can feed herself already, so maybe she has more skills than I was aware of.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe it's 2009 already! I'm not a huge fan of January (except for my dad's birthday, of course), and even though I love winter there's so much of it ahead with not much to look forward to. Easter is late this year and no one recognizes Mardi Gras as a holiday here, so there's nothing to break up the monotony between now and then.

My resolution this year is simple.....to have no resolutions. They're always the same so I've decided instead of the typical losing weight and exercising that all of us always plan, it would be best to make a permanent change to eating more healthfully and staying active. I think if those two things can happen then everything will should fall into place.

I can say that, aside from the three trips we were fortunate to take, 2008 was not our best year. I think I had a cold for more of the year than not. They've been messing with my Synthroid for the past seven months and even though it's the right dosage on paper, it's not agreeing with my body. The refrigerator broke and we lived out of coolers for over a week. Our dear "friends" at the auditor's office made an error on their part which resulted in us owing them thousands of dollars. Both of the cars needed major repairs. Xander had stitches twice. We've been fighting with United Behavioral Health for four months over some of Xander's bills and Jason worked for almost six months without a contract. You get the picture. Maybe I should make a resolution not to be so negative???

In retrospect, even though 2008 was not such a great year I've been able to come up with a lot of things that were worth remembering.

1. Louisiana trip Jason hadn't been home in almost six years and I just love it there. Plus we got away without the kids and could come and go as we pleased for the first time in YEARS. We indulged to our hearts content and got to do some (albeit quick) visiting with family and friends as well as partying with fans from both of our favorite college football teams. It doesn't get much better than that.





2. Jason was able to come home/be home both times Xander needed stitches, so I didn't have to take care of it myself (which would have been bad, bad, BAD).


3. Blizzard We got a TON of snow, the most I've ever seen in one day. We took the kids sledding and they loved it.

4. I showed the kids how to plant strawberries We didn't get that many but they got excited when we did and there's something nice about knowing where your food is coming from. Hopefully better luck this year.

5. My cousin had a new baby I haven't had the chance to see her as much as I'd like, but I love getting my baby fix now and then since we don't plan on having any more kids. I held her today until my arms fell asleep.

6. Kids posed for photos in fancy clothes This is a rarity.

7. Jason's brother and his family came to visit for the 4th of July and we had a really fun weekend

8. My flowers grew (even though some of them were the wrong color)

9. Ten years of marriage and a weekend away to celebrate.

10. Got one of the kids potty trained and the other is half-way there

11. Finally got Xander into the special needs preschool and he LOVES it

12. Florida trip Who doesn't love Disney World?



What blessed your life in 2008?