Curtains

Tod and I finally hung up our curtains in the living room. This was the first time we have ever had window treatment. In our old house we had nice wood blinds and didn't want to cover them up. Here was our conversation when hanging the blinds...

Me - "What do we do first?"

Tod - "How the heck should I know?"

Me - "Where do we start measuring from?"

Tod - "How the heck should I know?"

Me - "How far off the ground should they go?"

Tod - "How the heck should I know?"

It went on and on like this until we had our finished product....

Jinxie You Evil Cat

Once a year the Lexington Herald Leader publishes obituaries for its readers pets. If you have ever been a cat owner you can appreciate this one...

Jinxie
You evil feline. For 16 years you swiped food from others' plates. Oh, the many times you ran through wet paint. The times you threw up on our clothes, and pooped under our beds. You tore holes in our ductwork, robbing us of heat to make the crawl space a winter paradise. You urinated secretly on our gas logs, which upon ignition caused sudden evacuations of the house as the horrible burning aroma gagged our family and friends. You once jumped into the pool, only to shred the arm of the man who was saving your wicked life. When your rule was threatened, you lured unwitting other cats and kittens onto Colby Road to meet their demise. You survived long on your wits and foul deeds. But now, no longer will your sandpaper tongue wake us up at all hours. No longer will we hear your screams of pleasure and pain in the night air. And to the amazement of all, you managed to die in your sleep. We'll miss you, old buddy!

I am still laughing at this one! Enjoy!

Birthday, Fuze Ball, and Streets

Yesterday was Tod's birthday. To Tod it is just another day, but to the boys it is a BIG deal. They made him some construction paper book marks which we laminated at Office Max. The employees at Office Max too great care to make sure that these book marks were perfect. Now Brady can yank the book marks out of all of Tod's books! Jacob and I made some mini Brownie cookies and made some yummy cookie sandwiches with icing. Delicious! Happy Birthday!

I watched a friends daughter(almost 3) and son(12months) today while she ran some errands. We played in the playroom for a couple of hours. It was fun to have a little girl around. We played fuze ball, but Maggie didn't want to use the ball. I asked her why and she said, "Because these guys are doing gymnastics!" She would spin the guys around and yell "TA-DA!" It was too funny! I never thought to use the fuze ball table for gymnastics!

In today's Cincinnati Enquirer there is an article about Tod's Grandma O'Donnell.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090123/NEWS0103/901230412/1055/NEWS
She is having a street named for her in her town Latonia, KY. She worked for Holy Cross High School for fifty years. It is a touching story. If you have a minute please read the article.

Snowy Day in South Carolina.

Today is our first snowy day in South Carolina! Here is a picture of our back yard and the house. It looks so pretty!

A lonely little dove.

Here are some pictures of the boys playing in our little bit of snow. Hey - it was enough to cancel school!

SNOW DAY!!!

Today Jacob is experiencing his very first snow day from school. We got a recorded call at 5:45 this morning announcing that school was closed. Both boys slept in today too. Brady woke up at 6:05am and Jacob slept until 6:40! We are off to a good start. There is just a dusting of snow on the ground but we are expected to have snow on and off all day today. Tod's boss called last night and advised him to bring an overnight bag because they may be staying in a hotel downtown tonight because of the weather. Jacob keeps looking out the window waiting for more snow to come. We are all hoping for more snow!

Steal Magnolias

I have always said that no one cries alone in my presents and if there is an emergency...don't call me. I have never been good in a bad situation. Today I was tested. The boys and I were in the waiting room for Jacob's ENT appointment (he is fine BTW) watching the television. A nurse ran through the door and changed the channel to the news and she was followed by a Mom and her two kids who were about 5 and 6 years old. The Breaking News ran across the TV saying there had been a USAirways plane crash from New York to Charlotte. The woman was frozen. The older brother started to cry and yelled, "Does this mean Daddy is dead? Is Daddy dead?" My boys were in shock and glued themselves to their seats. The nurse and I were right there. The Mom just melted into the carpet in great sobs. The daughter cried and the son continued hysterically yelling, "Daddy's dead!" I couldn't say anything. The Mom reached out and she grabbed my hand. I pulled her son in and we just sat there on the floor of the waiting room. I traded a sorrow filled glance with the nurse, but there was really nothing we could do. Then suddenly the Mom's cell phone rang. She said, "Hello? Is that really you?" It was her husband. He was OK. The two kids and their Mom just sat there and told him that they loved him and that they were so happy that he is safe. I gave her a smile and sat back down with the boys. I looked up and saw three men in tears. Not hiding it. Just crying into their hands at what they just saw.

It was amazing to see such devastation and elation. I was so surprised at myself. I actually held it together. Well, until I got in the car. I lost it and cried all the way home. I can still hear that little boys voice. It is haunting. I am going to squeeze Tod a little harder tonight.

Ladies of the Y

Everyday (well, most days!) after taking Jacob to school, Brady and I venture to the Y. We are always one of the first ones checking into Child Watch. There are three grandmotherly ladies that work in the mornings. All these ladies want to do is cuddle and snuggle with the little ones. When babies come in they scramble to the front to hold and rock them. Today while dropping Brady off at Child Watch there was a collective..."BRADY'S HERE!" All three ladies were so happy to see him. Brady jumped up and said, "YAY!"

After my workout I went to pick him up and he wasn't there. Panic! The ladies told me that they sent him to Wee Fit because he said he wanted to go. Which is a program for 3-5 year olds to teach them some exercises. I was a little stunned that they sent him without me knowing, but I knew he was in good hands and they were already walking back from class. One of the ladies pulled me aside and said, "Now you know...Brady is our favorite. He sings for us. He dances for us. He plays nicely. And we missed him today so this might be his last time going to Wee Fit!" She laughed. I was touched to see that they seemed to truly care for him and the rest of the kids in the Child Watch.

When we left there was a collective, "Bye Bye Brady!" Brady said, "Bye!" I said, "Thank you!"