Wednesday, April 30, 2008

CELEBRATION

(Kaleb picked the colors for his hearing aid)
Today was the day.
Kaleb, Ben and I traveled up to Dartmouth to get his hearing aid. It actually went a lot smoother than I anticipated. He was finally ready to accept that he was getting his hearing aid and even got a little excited! It was good. The audiologist spent about 45 minutes teaching Kaleb how to use his hearing aid. There was a lot of information and a TON of equipment to go along with such a tiny little device. The most wonderful part of the whole trip was when he put his hearing aid in for the first time, you should have seen the look on his face. He was amazed at the difference the hearing aid made.
**********
Here's to a successful trip and to the
wonderful advances of technology. Kaleb with his new friend that has hearing aids too... Checking out his new friend...
The $2,100 device up close...
One happy boy...

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

BREAKING GROUND

Happy early Mother's Day to me! Today my husband came home with a NEW tiller for our garden. Can I just tell you how EXCITED I am? I love to garden but I hated getting the garden ready because we have always done it by hand - very tedious, especially living here in the GRANITE STATE! Anyway, all the gardens from last year are tilled and ready to be planted, all in less than 30 minutes. Steve is even making me another garden towards the back of the yard ~ BRING IT ON! It's a great gift and even better is the man behind the machine. Zucchini, here we come...
my new machine...
garden number 1...
breaking ground for the new garden...

Saturday, April 26, 2008

STYLIN' DO!

Here I am...in 2nd grade....can someone please tell me what kind of hairstyle I'm sporting? What was my mom thinking? She swears to me that my hair did not look like this when she sent me to school that day...I beg to differ.
(what's with the third bow on top of my head?)
Okay, so maybe I played a little hard during recess, but...HUH?

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

FIRST (professional) HAIRCUT

(posted today - April 24th)
Ben wasn't in the mood to smile - sorry.
It was no easy task cutting his wrinkly scalp!
The end result is fantastic!
A big THANK YOU to Laura Lewis for giving Ben his first professional haircut EVER! It was an exciting moment for me. I will post pictures tomorrow. Just wanted to give a shout out to the best stylist I know! Thank you again! (oh...and the playdate was a blast too, all around GREAT time!!!)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

COUSINS

What I did for April Vacation:
Piled on Uncle Aaron's ROCKIN' tree swing...
Enjoyed some time at a local park together...
Played 2 hand football with all ages...
Ate so much candy we almost puked...
Danced in old dance costumes until we dropped!

Monday, April 21, 2008

BLUE MAN

WHAT A FABULOUS NIGHT IT WAS...
Riding the subway...$20


Tickets to Blue Man...$192

Dinner together in Boston...$140
A night out with Aaron and Rachael...



PRICELESS!


Thanks for the FUN night!

Friday, April 18, 2008

SURPRISE!

I love embarrassing my husband, especially when he's at work. You can't get more macho than being a COP so when your wife shows up to work with a cake and Pooh Bear balloons wanting to take pictures, it kind of takes away from the macho-ness. I knew he wouldn't come in to the police station on his own volition so I had the dispatcher make up a reason for him to come in. I met him in the parking lot with said cake and balloons just as a fellow detective and captain drove in. They jumped on the chance to make fun of him and you could see Steve start to squirm. At one point he starts to untie the balloons from the cake for me to take home and I told him NO WAY! If the cake stays the balloons have to stay too - isn't that right captain? He ordered Steve to leave them be. It was fantastic! Now we're off to Blue Man to see them perform, I love extended birthdays...
Steve with his carrot cake...Trying to act macho in front of his captain and co-worker No Steve, you may not untie the balloons...

HE'S THE MAN!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY
HUNKY HUSBAND!
37 YEARS YOUNG!!
I LOVE HIM BECAUSE...

he's the best hugger EVER!
he's a great spiritual leader
he's a Fantastic Father!
he's Silly and Sarcastic
he's athletic and a great teacher
he LOVES his mother dearly
he's my New Hampshire Hero
(awarded by the Governor)

he gives the most heavenly footrubs
(just ask my mother)

he's my eternal sweetheart
and he plays a MEAN game of pool!!!
Your birthday gift from me is:
1. a day off from work
2. a trip down to Boston
3. Tickets to BLUE MAN GROUP
4. Dinner in Boston afterward
(surprise!)
LOVE YOU BABE!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

MY ELEMENTARY YEARS


Everyday my good mother would pack me a lunch and everyday at lunchtime, in the trash it went. Why, you ask? Because I was bringing to school the embarrassing 2 inch thick (if you sliced it any thinner it would fall apart) homemade wheat bread PB&Jelly sandwich with a few homemade cookies. (sometimes it was chunk light tuna that graced the giant bread) I remember many a lunches where kids would stare at me as I tried to wrap my jaws around the 6inch thick sandwich. What 2nd grader even has a jaw span that wide? Nobody was trading anything for MY stash! This was the era when white bread became HUGE, Fruit roll-ups were rolling upon the scene, chips ahoy jumped on board with their cookies and juiceboxes made their big debut. Understand that I came from a family of 9 with added foster children in the mix. My mom stayed home with us while my dad worked as a police chief. We were mostly poor and couldn't afford the store bought stuff. So...it didn't take my mom long to realize that not only was I throwing away my lunch, but my accomplice (twin brother) was also doing the dirty deed. From that day forward, we were made to walk home (1/2 mile) during our lunch period so that my mom could physically see us eat our lunch. PAINFUL! Why? It wasn't the walk - we loved that walk - it was the fact that we were missing recess because by the time we ate and walked back, it was over.


Let's see...how 'bout the time that my skirt flew off during a recess soccer game with the boys? THAT was FUN! (not) I have mentioned before that I was a true-blue tomboy and so instead of playing dolls with the girls, I was out on the field with the boys. I don't remember being fussy at that age with clothing, I pretty much wore what my mom laid out for me. This particular day it was a wrap-around corduroy skirt. (remember those?) We were having a great game, I had even scored a few goals. There I was...running down the field on a perfect break-a-way when my skirt decided to up and leave my body. Now picture young girl with shirt, underwear and shoes running down the field. I quickly made an abrupt turn and headed back for said skirt. I can't remember what happened next because the memory is too painful.
(this is why tomboys DON'T wear SKIRTS!!!)




Occasionally on the walk home from school, we would have a neighbor kid with us. One particular day as we were walking home, this neighbor boy pointed out to Ben and I some poison ivy on the side of the road. We had heard about this nasty plant, but never experienced it's venom. This neighbor boy proceeded to tell us how if we touched it we would get poison ivy really bad. This is where I think I must have been missing a few brain cells because in my attempt to "BE COOL", I told this neighbor boy that I could rub the ivy all over me and I'd never get it. He looked at me like I had two heads as I proceeded to RUB this POISON all over my body. Let's just say that the next day I was not at school due to the fact that I was unrecognizable as a human being. (note to self...never rub poison ivy all over body)


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

MEET GEORGE WASHINGTON

Tonight was the Wax Museum at Stevie's elementary school. Stevie chose to be George Washington. She did a super-duper job and even looked a lot like him. (minus the false teeth) I was curious as to why she chose George Washington to represent and her reply? "Because I thought it was cool that he had false teeth made out of ivory." Okey-dokey, whatever floats your boat!
George Washington strikes a pose
Daddy and Stevie

Monday, April 14, 2008

FOR AARON


This post is in response to an email Aaron sent me the other day...



1. What is your occupation?
Wife and mother

2. What color are your socks right now?
White with PUMA in grey

3. What are you listening to right now?
Ben's compressor - used for his humidification

4. What was the last thing you ate?
Mexican corn chowder and corn muffins, YUM!

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Learned to drive with one - so YES!

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Probably yellow because that color makes me feel happy:)

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
Kayla's AAU Basketball coach's wife - calling to tell me about her scrimmage for tomorrow night

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Not only do I like him, but I LOVE him!

10. Favorite drink?
Vitamin water

11. What is your favorite sport to watch?
College basketball - men and women or Olympic Gymnastics

12. Have you ever dyed your hair?
No and if my genes hold true I just might not have to! (thanks mom:))

13. Pets?
2 very cute but annoying PUGS

14. Favorite food?
I love a hearty chowder and fresh fruit

15. Last movie you watched?
We are Marshall - in honor of my brother-n-law Jarrod who works at Marshall University (the movie is based on a very sad but true story)

16. Favorite day of the year?
Probably the last day of school - can't wait!

17. What do you do to vent anger?
I'm not really one who needs to VENT my anger. I just deal with and move on.

18. What was your favorite toy as a child?
One that I remember fondly is my Batman Pogo stick. I would jump for hours on that thing

19. What is your favorite season?
Definitely Fall although Spring comes pretty close this year after the winter we've had

20. Hugs or kisses?
HUGS! (especially from my husband - he's the best hugger EVER!)

21. Cherry or blueberry?
Mostly cherry unless it's a muffin then I'd rather have blueberry

22. Do you want your friends to email you back?
No because I'm using this as a post

23. Who is most likely to comment?
Probably Aaron - he always has something sarcastic to say - it's his way of showing me LOVE, right Aaron?

24. Who is least likely to comment?
Um...probably my sister Amy Jo

25. When was the last time you cried?
Tonight at Family Home Evening. I gave the lesson on Elder Bednar's talk from General Conference last week on PRAYER. I re-told the story about the little girl who died.

26. What is on the floor of your closet?
Oh...treasures! Actually due to lack of storage space for all of Ben's equipment, I keep all of his extras (that don't fit neatly into his rubbermaid drawers) packaged into boxes on the floor.

27. Favorite smells?
Newborn babies and homemade bread baking in the oven

28. Who inspires you?
People who are selfless

29. What are you afraid of?
Losing my children, car accidents

30. Number of keys on your key ring?
4 I think

31. How many years at your current job?
Oh...about 15

32. Favorite day of the week?
Fridays

33 . How many states have you lived in?
4 - Colorado, Massachusetts, Idaho and New Hampshire

34. Do you think you're funny?
At times

35. Have you decided who you're voting for President?
No - not since Mitt dropped out

Sunday, April 13, 2008

MY HALF BIRTHDAY

Happy half birthday to ME! Yep...today is my day...well, atleast half the day was mine. After church I celebrated with my children and friend Kathy since my husband had to work a whole day on my half day. (rude) Half of the dinner was made, half of the dishes were cleaned, half of a (church) movie was watched and half of a cake was made to finish the celebration off. It's now official...I'm 34 and a half years old.
HOORAY for HALF BIRTHDAYS!!!



Oops...lest I foget my other HALF? Happy HALF birthday to you too Ben!

Friday, April 11, 2008

MY SIDEKICK

It was BEAUTIFUL yesterday and so once again I dragged Ben out of the house to go grocery shopping with me. I love taking Ben. He's such a great side kick. Grocery shopping...THAT'S always an interesting time. Me pushing his wheelchair and pulling the shopping cart. You should see the looks and whispers that I get. Good times I tell you. Some will walk by and whisper to their significant other..."boy, that lady's got her hands full", (ya think?) or how about the ones that give you that sympathy smile? My favorite? The ones that steer clear from you - to the point that they will turn around and walk the other way. Someday I'll get the courage up to yell at them..."Ya...I wouldn't want to catch it either!" As if my child has something contagious.
Ben and I? We just chuckle.
People are funny that way.
(Or should I say ignorant?)

Monday, April 7, 2008

SILLY PUTTY

Can I just tell you how much I HATE silly putty??!! It makes me cranky in a BIG way. If my kids show up with it, I trash it immediately. (only when they're looking the other way of course) My kids know how I feel about this "putrid" putty. Not sure if you've had the pleasure of experiencing silly putty stuck to your carpet or to the buttons on your remote control but this stuff does NOT come off! It's hideous. Whoever invented this stuff should be punished.
It's a mom's worst nightmare.
So this morning as we were getting Kayla and Kaleb ready to leave for school, I called Stevie down for prayer. We were all kneeling at the foot of the stairs when she comes meandering down in her "half-wake" stupor. That's when I noticed it. The "stupid putty" stuck all over her pajamas. (okay, stupid is a little harsh - but it certainly isn't silly - don't remember EVER laughing at this stuff!) Of course I asked her the obvious "did you take silly putty to bed with you?" She looked at me with a dazed, confused look. I pointed to the mess that was all over her and she then proceeded to tell me that the egg was closed. Okay...first of all, we NEVER take silly putty out of the kitchen (my rule) and secondly, don't tell me the egg was closed when you went to bed because I'm pretty sure the "silly putty princess" would not have it all over her pajamas if it was. Can someone PLEASE help me with this crisis? Don't tell me to stick her pajamas in the freezer or use goo-gone because I've been there and done that. I'm afraid that by tonight if I can't find a remedy, these pajamas will be visiting the big black bag of DEATH!
(sniff, sniff)


HELP!