looking at life with one eye shut

just a few more of my cuties......

2007-08-07T09:21:00.000-04:00

this is why old men shouldn't play sports.......

2007-08-07T08:12:00.000-04:00

don decided once again this year to play softball. he plays for a parks and recreation league for our city. the team was comprised of mostly twenty-somethings with a few (ahem) old men scattered in. the season was fraught with injuries. one of the young guys on his team was hit by a line drive in the face which resulted in 3 broken facial bones. there were a few other minor injuries throughout the season....most of them incurred by the older, (ahem) more mature men on the team. then on 7/24/07 in one of his last games, don was out in left field and the ball was hit to him. he misjudged it and ran forward to catch it, realized that it was going to go over his head and planted his right foot to stop. he started to turn to run backwards but his planted right foot stayed planted while the rest of his body made the turn. this resulted in what he described as a sickening popping noise and immense pain. this strong, cancer surviving, macho, he-man, sports hero dropped on the spot. he had to be taken off of the field on a golf cart. unfortunately i wasn't at that game but my co-worker was as her (young) boyfriend plays on an opposing team. she happened to see the commotion on the field don was playing on and went over to check it out. she saw him being loaded onto the golf cart and called me. there was no way don was going to be able to drive the car home so i had to have my neighbor drive me to the ball field to retrieve my car and my injured sports hero. he actually had to be driven from the playing field to the parking lot. heh. the above picture is what a torn groin muscle looks like and was taken three days after the injury. and just in case you had any doubt just how macho he really is, he was in the basement weight-lifting the day this picture was taken. he still has the bruise after two weeks although it is fading some. that's my guy.......

sometimes change sucks....

2007-08-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

like when don decided to change internet servers from aol to comcast to accommodate his new laptop and wireless setup. in short..i don't like comcast as my new server. maybe it was too easy to use aol because we had that account for so long. comcast is what we are signed up for as our high speed internet, telephone and cable for the house. apparently, blogger doesn't recognize my new email address and password. and changing it was like running around in circles. like everything else in life lately, the emails to try and change over to the new server were automated. you know, like when you call anywhere for anything and you get routed to india and your customer service representative is "jennifer" or "michael" even though they have curiously very thick indian accents. well that is what it was like for me to try and access my blog in the last few weeks. i know some of you have been waiting for me to post, and i apologize for the delay. i found out that i can't upload pictures to the blog and i'm not sure why. if i can't figure it out, i will either switch from blogger to typepad or open a brand new blog in blogger. i plan on working on this tomorrow. so, my friends and family...be patient for a little longer. oh, and tessa is getting cuter by the day and scarlett is so sweet with her and such a helpful big sister. i promise, i will try to get some pictures uploaded. if i have to start another blog, i will let you know.........

edited...i guess i can upload pictures, just differently and one at a time instead of directly from picasa..ah well...here is nanny with tess and scarlett in the most unusual sleeping position i have ever seen her in....more later

scarlett loves her baby sister...

2007-07-10T19:41:00.000-04:00

tessa is lucky...not a bit of jealousy toward her from scarlett. she is very protective of tess and is very good at keeping champ from licking her baby sister's face (which he loves to do and we really have to watch him for).
she is so sweet and will let me take pictures of her and tessa whenever i ask her to.
i am loving this pose...a pose that scarlett just did without any direction from me. well, i did clone her feet out of the background because she was sticking them straight up.
and here is one of nonna with my sweet tess, we love her so much.

just a little slide show from yesterday...

2007-07-08T07:23:00.000-04:00

we had a litte photo session today...

2007-07-07T20:48:00.000-04:00

i have been waiting for 9 months for this moment...a photo session with my new precious granddaughter (that still feels weird to be considered a grandma...for the second time no less)
tessa was so good and photographs so well. we had a mini session in my bedroom and it was a lovely time. shannon had to stop and feed her in the middle of it so we took advantage of that time to get some of her and tessa.

and scarlett burst into the room at one point so i decided to get her in on the action too. i had to convince her to take her shirt off and she wasn't willing until i promised her a popsicle for her cooperation. ahh, the power of bribery...

and you know i have a thing for baby feet.....

2007-07-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

so pink, with the perfect little piggies and the adorable wrinkles on the soles..

well now i have a thing for still attached, dried up old umbilical cords.....that look like reese's peanut butter cups.....:)

it really does..click on the picture to make it larger...

one of my favorite things in life.......

2007-07-07T09:09:00.000-04:00

is that he will take a walk with his dad and his dog....
and still hold daddy's hand
even at 10 years old.....

they found this little guy stuck to the side of our shed...

2007-07-07T09:04:00.000-04:00

i guess it's some kind of tree frog. allison took these pictures of it and found that it had some pretty remarkable markings.
he got a ride on my sunflower globe and on ali's green shirt.
he tried to escape a few times, this was one of those times but it got her this cool shot of it's colorful butt.
he (she) was very small and for the most part really quite content to just hang around on her hand or austen's. very cool little critters we have around here.

poor tessa...

2007-07-03T22:41:00.000-04:00

when she was born, the doctor thought that he heard a "pop" and suspected a clavicle fracture. they checked her out and felt that because she had good range of motion and wasn't crying in pain, that she was okay and deferred the xray. shannon however, suspected that something wasn't right and took tess to the doctor yesterday. they sent her for an xray and sure enough, the clavicle was a complete fracture. shannon called me at work sobbing, and told me what happened. she felt so bad that maybe she had aggravated the injury by dressing and holding her wrong, albeit carefully. doctors said to keep the arm immobilized by pinning a long sleeved t-shirt to her shirt at the chest. with the warm july weather she had to become a little more creative so this is the result.
tess is still very content and does not seem to be in any pain.
shannon took the girls to kelly's for a play date and kelly took these pictures. i am having major withdrawls because i have not seen tessa (or scarlett) in 2 days. she still looks like her daddy, especially in this picture. what a doll.

she has changed so much...

2007-07-01T20:43:00.000-04:00

in just a short 24 hour period. her face seems to have filled out and her cheeks are fuller. she is so cute and so good. with her little milk mouth and black curls, she is so sweet.
if you look closely in this picture she has a little baby mohawk compliments of daddy. now if i could only think of a way to make it pink...
she is so good, hardly a peep. she is feeding good and sleeping good. shannon feels great, so much better than last time {so she tells me}.
we are in love with her but austen is besotted with her. he wanted to hold her the whole time we were there today and talked to her and kissed her. he is totally in love with her and he and scarlett clamor to be the one to hold her when they are together. he is going to have so much fun when shannon starts babysitting for him after the two week gm shutdown and don is back to work.

this is scarlett when she was born and she is looking more and more like her every day. it should be interesting to see how much they look alike {or different}. time will tell.....

here she is.....

2007-06-29T17:24:00.000-04:00

tessa christine...
21 inches long....and wrapped around my finger.....
adored by her new big sister....
and the cutest little thing who looks just like her daddy... and her grandma christine (jason's mom). shannon did very well, once things got started. went from 6 cm. to birthing her in 40 minutes. too bad it took almost 24 hours to get to that point. she went in wednesday night and tessa was born on friday at 12:06 pm. two pushes and she was out. with a fuzzy head of black curls. and is just adorable. congratulations shannon, jason and scarlett and thank you for another adorable granddaughter.

this is it.....

2007-06-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

she is going to have a baby tomorrow......
they are going to be a family of four.....
and she can't wait to be the big sister.....

who knew that she was such a tomboy...

2007-06-25T20:44:00.000-04:00

such a pretty little thing. you really can dress her up... i had the china tea set before she was even born.
but she will grab her best froggin' friend and...
finds her frog in the pond which she happily showed off to me. we always thought that scarlett would be a princess. tea parties, frou-frou dresses and baby dolls. but not her, no sir...she likes frogs, bugs, snakes, dirt, jeans and ratty t-shirts. you can fix up her hair but soon after she is wiping her falling down hairstyle out of her sweaty face with her dirty, pudgy hands.
does the reverse work??? if she kisses this frog will it turn her into a princess? i don't think so. i guess we'll have to work on her baby sister.

...and even more of my two beauties...

2007-06-25T20:35:00.000-04:00

could you just eat them up??

just a few from last night.....

2007-06-18T18:06:00.000-04:00

we went over to shannon's for father's day dinner and afterward we did a photo shoot for her. l love the way these pictures turned out. i love the evening light...it makes everything glow.

gotta run to austen's baseball game now....i'll post some more later.

bay sail 2007......

2007-06-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

i never had a field trip as good as these kids have them these days. 3 days ago, i went on a field trip with austen's class to bay city to sail in this schooner. i don't think we could have had a more perfect day weather wise. about 83 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

the kids had so much fun and so did i. we sailed up and back the saginaw river which was not very attractive on the shores. lots and lots of factories and mills that were spewing smoke, steam and god knows what else. but once we got into the bay, it was beautiful. the kids got to raise the sail with the crew once we were in the bay. it was really hard work, but they got to say "heave-ho", in it's correct context, just like pirates. the ride lasted for 2 1/2 hours and for the afternoon we went to a beautiful park in bay city with large shade trees and a playscape for the kids to hang out on.
two drawbridges opened for us and stopped traffic on the bridge. it was a pretty cool trip and i even volunteered my services for next year's 4th grade trip there.
we all got to go to mcdonald's for lunch after the boat trip. you should have seen the faces of the people behind the counter when we strolled in with 27 4th graders and 8 chaperones. eyes as wide as saucers.....like a deer in the headlights. each kid got to order whatever they wanted. imagine 13 orders of chicken selects, 10 orders of chicken mcnugges, chicken wraps, kids meals, salads, 27 orders of fries and on and on. austen's teacher approached the counter to order everything and the kid behind the register looked to be about 16 years old. she asked if there was someone more experienced there but the staff assured her that this kid could handle it.....and he did. the food was done fast and we were out of there in about 45 minutes...great trip and great fun.

baby love.....

2007-06-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

i love me some brand new baby skin...so wrinkly and soft. just like a shar-pei puppy.
this is london grace at 9 days old...so sweet and this one looks just like her mamma...who is my friend tina...and she is just too sweet for words. she is a good baby who for the first week home slept 6 hours at night. you can't get much better than that.
she was very cooperative for the photo shoot. awake for most of it and then fell asleep at the end of the shoot. it's nice to have a new neighbor...especially when it is a beautiful little baby girl.

it makes me so anxious for shannon's baby to be born. i went to the doctor's with shannon yesterday. her doctor wanted her to have another ultrasound because her belly is so big. at 37 weeks, the baby is measuring at around 8.5 lbs already and she still has 3 weeks to go. babies generally gain about 1/2 lb per week at this stage so shannon is concerned about another big baby. scarlett was 9 lbs 10 oz and shannon does not want to go throught that again but the nurse practitioner told shannon that they will check her again in 2 weeks. which brings her to 39 weeks. they will not let her go over this time like she did with scarlett. so if she does not go into labor sooner, she will have the baby on or near her due date. she is soooooo ready. hang, in there kiddo.

i guess don is not the only michigan fan in the house....

2007-06-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

i came into the kitchen the other morning and saw that champers had absconded with austen's u of m football into his cage....
...hugging it like it was his security blanket...
and not willing to give it up easily...i don't know if i can stand another michigan football fan in the house. don is bad enough and if you are my family or close friends reading this, you know what i mean.

it isn't all fun and games.....

2007-06-07T08:15:00.000-04:00

when you are up against the first place team and you let a grounder go through your legs. oooh...he was not happy with himself. austen tends to be pretty intense when he plays and is really very hard on himself when he doesn't play well.. the thing is, he does play well and we have to remind him that every ball isn't a home run or even a hit and every ball fielded isn't a double play or even an out.
he shook it off pretty good and got back into the game.....
but as little league goes, it always keeps you hoppin'.
in a funny side note, the team was asked to vote for two boys on the team to send to an all star team in july. the boys would vote and then the coaches would take that into account and then pick two boys based on the votes and their own recommendations. i asked austen who he voted for...he told me "i voted for myself". geez...did i raise an egotist?? so i went to my neighbor's house (her son nick is on austen's team) and asked nick who he voted for and he said "i voted for myself". i don't feel so bad anymore.....

this was creepy....

2007-06-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

on saturday night the neighborhood kids put together a bonfire in our fire pit. they arranged the whole thing and had tables and chairs set up with s'mores and pop and hotdogs. they were so cute.

but the weather turned pretty ugly at the end and this was what we saw above us. it turned out to be pretty tame though, no big thunderboomers and just a tiny bit of lightening

he got the game ball with this hit.....

2007-06-05T09:20:00.000-04:00

after each game, the coach awards the game ball to the player who did an outstanding job during that particular game. this one was a triple and austen runs so fast that when he slid into 3rd base he overslid and had to double back...
he made it, though and was safe... and just so pleased with himself. he was named in our local paper for this game and got a big kick out of that. we have had lots and lots of baseball around here. austen has games every wednesday night and saturday. don is playing softball on tuesday nights and so our weeknights are pretty full. we enjoy it though and austen's friend nick is on his team so that makes it doubly fun. austen has a great field trip coming up next week that i am going on with him. we go to bay city and sail on a huge boat. they call it "the bay sail" and i can't wait. i will be sure to post pictures about that trip. last week we went on another field trip to the flint county courthouse and jail. his class got to sit in the juror's box and watch actual court cases. prisoners being brought into court in orange jumpsuits and chains. policemen being cross examined in the witness chair. a young man being sentenced to 2 years in the county jail for drug possession and use. lawyers...judges....defendants...the whole shebang. we then took the bus to the county jail and got a tour of that facility. lots and lots of cold, hard surfaces...hard chairs, metal doors, clanking and echoing noises all of the time. tiny cots with thin mattresses. the kids didn't seem too fazed by this until i mentioned to them as we watched the security monitors that looked directly into the prisoners rooms that they had to go to the bathroom...every time....with someone watching them...pee and poo. no privacy. most of the kids stared at me in disbelief when i mentioned this and then a slight realization came over them. i heard lots of ugh's and eeeeww's and yuck's....we were going to actually go into the common areas while the prisoners were in lockdown but the jail was over crowded and they could not lock everyone down while we were there. i would have liked them to see the people in the cells close up instead of just behind the glass like we ended up doing. in the end, i hope that that tour of the jail will deter at least my kid from any kind of life of crime.

what's been happening since mother's day...

2007-06-05T08:44:00.000-04:00

lots around here. first of all, mom, here is a picture of scarlett, sorry i've been so lame about posting. this was taken at one of austen's baseball games. she is such a cutie. more of her later.

this was a very interesting day about 2 weeks ago. my neighbor has a friend who is a makeup artist. she knew of a production company who wanted to make a movie about a child who had no sense of touch, she could not feel pain. it is based on a true story and they needed a young, blond toddler to play the girl as a one year old. so eden was picked. she had to have makeup done on her forehead to resemble a burn and none of us thought eden would sit still long enough to let her do it.
turns out we were wrong....as long as the makeup artist chased her around her playroom and did most of the makeup while eden was on her rocking horse watching the backyardigans on tv.
this is the after make-up job. the production company filmed a small trailer for the movie at my neighbor's house that showed eden supposedly pulling a hot iron down on her head. this is the burn mark when she was finished. i was over at tina's house taking pictures while they were setting up and doing all of the filming. it was pretty interesting. this trailer is really a storyboard that the production company is presenting to the film makers. it will be called "touch" and they told me that they would send me a video of the docudrama if it gets developed.

happy mother's day.....

2007-05-13T09:25:00.000-04:00

may you have a very restful and peace filled day....

we got a letter from the grand blanc optimist club last week.....

2007-05-12T10:11:00.000-04:00

it was addressed to the parents of austen mandernach and it said that his teacher had nominated him to be honored at the Grand Blanc Optimist Club 2nd Annual Youth Appreciation Night on May 9th. we were surprised and a little unsure of what this was. i asked austen if his teacher had talked to him about this and how many kids from his class had been nominated and he told me that it was just him....when i asked him why, he told me that it was because he was most improved in his class. we were thrilled to hear that because he has worked so hard this year.
he was one of 14 kids nominated from 8 schools in his school district. it was held at the senior center in town and there was a dessert reception.
he got a name tag and a special award certificate...
and his teacher got on stage with him and talked about how hard austen has worked and improved his grades this year and what a wonderful kid he was to have in class..he just stood on that stage and beamed...we could tell that he was very proud of himself (as he should be) and we are so proud of all of his hard work too. good job boog....

more maternity pics....

2007-05-08T22:29:00.000-04:00

i just love doing these shoots....pregnancy is such a happy time. tina trains me (to lose weight) and has about 3 weeks to go before she has her next little girl. we tried to get the pictures done a couple of weeks ago but tina became very ill and we had to reschedule for this past sunday. i love these pictures and and we had fun doing them. her daughter eden was less than cooperative and unfortunately i didn't get any of her kissing mama's tummy, but we did get a few family shots.
we got these fun poses and she was game for anything.
i had trouble keeping her awake, though...i guess that is a good sign that she was really relaxed and comfortable. :)

every pregnant woman should look this wonderful at 37 weeks...

the boys of summer are back...

2007-05-08T22:09:00.000-04:00

it's baseball season once again. and this time, they mean business. you bat until you get a hit, get a walk or strike out. 5 innings or two hours, whichever comes first. this was his first scrimmage, from last thursday.... and he got to play catcher for a couple of innings. even though he never played that position before he did really well. he got a triple, too.

and he didn't let one ball get by him....well almost... champ loves to go out to the ballpark too. although he is more interested in the other dogs there than in cheering austen on....and he is just a tiny bit humiliated by having to be tied to the fence....

if we do anything right in this family.......

2007-04-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

we grow good looking kids...
samantha, at 12 going on 22......
and allison, 15 going on 16....
both incredibly beautiful...it's scary, really, just how fast they are growing up. it almost takes my breath away...

she is just about 30 weeks now...

2007-04-30T21:47:00.000-04:00

the time is flying by...for her and for us.
she revels in her pregnancy....
feels good...
is so incredibly beautiful.....

and just glows.....

i spent last weekend getting my degree in.....

2007-04-29T18:50:00.000-04:00

scrapbooking arts....no kidding....A Bachelor of Scrapbooking Arts. at the dearborn hyatt regency...at creating keepsakes university. a real degree with a mortarboard and a diploma and everything..(including tuition$$$). i went with my friend and hairdresser lianne shown with me as we show off our diplomas. we went from thursday to saturday and had a blast. three days of scrapbooking classes, shopping, crops and meeting up and reconnecting with old friends. we took classes like digital scrapbooking, photography, wicked scrapbooking techniques, etc.

i saw some old friends, some of whom i didn't expect to see....like allison who i met two years ago in wisconsin at a scrapbooking event. how fun it was to see her again. and ali edwards....whom i've met a few times and it is always great to see her too. love ya, girlie...our hotel room was very nice but in a perpetual state of chaos the entire weekend. we just kept collecting more stuff. every class we went to we got more stuff. every store we went to we got more stuff. and when i packed the car to go home, i had way more stuff than i left home with....but that's okay...in fact it was good. but what is up with hotel rooms and their price gouging........... c'mon...$5.00 for a bottle of water??? good thing there was a target and a grocery store nearby. we bought our own dang water. at least it was a very quiet hotel, probably the quietest i have ever slept in. and clean....i didn't get too creeped out about germs in this room.
i guess i should have gotten a picture of the room after housekeeping got through with it. it was really nice. i want to thank my wonderful husband for agreeing to shell out the $600.00 it cost me for this wonderful weekend of fun (and schooling) after all, i did earn a degree..........

oh, but they're weird and they're wonderful.....

2007-04-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

we had dinner at ci ci's pizza today, a new little pizza buffet in town. the food is good, about 12 different types of pizza from cheese and pepperoni - to chicken mushroom and buffalo chicken to spinach alfredo. it's really good and we though we'd take austen and allison there after going to home depot for paint for the new den.

my hairdo is thanks to the extreme wind we had today....but at least we had sunshine the entire day. after snow for the past week...even if it's cold at least it is easier to bear with the sun beating through the windows. while walking my food to the table, i looked outside and saw this pink mohawk walk by the window. it took me a couple of seconds to decide if i wanted to do it but i bolted out the door and chased him down the walkway. there was an older man walking slightly behind him and i wasn't sure that they were together but i approached this young man and asked him if i could take his picture. the older man asked me why i wanted to do this and i told him that i was doing a documentary of a week in my life for a scrapbooking project and told the young man that i thought he looked awesome. i loved his pink mohawk and i told him so. he seemed so surprised that someone told him he looked awesome and i don't think that his dad (which the older man turned out to be) had ever heard that either. he told me though, that they were proud of his individuality, although from the way that he was walking behind his son, somehow i don't know if that was exactly the case...

he happily posed for me though.....and i got these great pictures.

ever the photographer, i had him pose for me in so i could see all of him...he ended coming in to ci ci's with his dad and grandparents to eat and as we were leaving, i thanked him again for the pictures...i never saw such a big smile.....

this boy.....

2007-04-10T09:29:00.000-04:00

got one A, four B's and one C on his report card this semester. we couldn't possibly be more proud of this great kid. he has come so incredibly far this year. last year we had actually talked of holding him back in third grade because of his progress (or lack thereof) in school. he was doing terrible and was working at a second grade level or lower in most of his subjects. he hated getting up in the morning and would whine and tell me he didn't want to go to school. he was frustrated when it came time to do his homework and he would lay his head down on the table and sob. he was required to read for 20 minutes every night and we made him read out loud to us. his face would get red and his eyes would start tearing up and usually would collapse in a heap because he just couldn't read.

teacher conferences were a nightmare. grades going down every semester and she told us of lack of participation from austen. it spilled over into his home life as he was so unfocused that asking him to simply clean his room brought a torrent of tears and temper. his teacher finally asked us to have austen tested for ADD. we did this toward the end of third grade and after months of waiting (and through the summer) we finally got a call from the school social worker who informed us that austen did indeed have ADD. we got this news about two weeks into his fourth grade school year. i took him to our doctor who started him on concerta for the ADD. we decided not to tell his fourth grade teacher that we had started the medication as we wanted to see if there would be any difference in his school work. about 4 weeks later we had his first teacher conference. while we were waiting for the parents ahead of us to finish their turn, my stomach was sick. i felt for sure that there was going to be no change and he was just going to struggle through the rest of his educational career. but when we walked in the room, his teacher greeted us with "i cannot believe the change in your son over the past month". i almost started sobbing with relief. we let her know that had started on concerta over that last month and she told us that he was on the perfect dose...not sleepy or lethargic and had a healthy appetite. she told us that he was participating in every aspect of the day. he volunteered to read to the class and raised his hand when she asked questions of the kids. this also spilled over into his home life as he readily reads to us daily and can clean is room in 10 minutes flat (without crying). he comes home from school and doesn't need to be told to get started on his homework, he just does it. and he gets good grades to boot. he still struggles in math some but we are working on that. we had a conference with his teacher last week and she tells us that he continues to improve in all of his subjects. we are beyond relieved....and so proud of our son.....

science fair time

2007-04-10T08:57:00.000-04:00

last week was austen's science fair. he and daddy decided to do a really cool project, a levitating train which glided (is that a word??) over the magnetic tracks as the magnets repelled each other. you can see in this image that the "car" is actually floating. it was pretty cool.

daddy helped austen build the box using wood and plexiglass and austen actually did a lot of the cutting and nailing as well as painting.
we had to do a display board and i had austen do all of the typing so i could edit it for him. he arranged and pasted the pages and pictures on the board (with a little help from mom). this is what it looked like when he took it to school. we were very proud of him and for all of his hard work and research he did on this project.

final grade---A+

just a few pictures from yesterday......

2007-03-05T19:10:00.000-05:00

we kept scarlett saturday night and sunday, i had the chance to take some long overdue pictures of her. she was pretty cooperative considering she is a 3 year old and i got some really pretty pictures of her.
i can't believe how big she is getting....not to mention how mature she seems to be. she is starting to lose her baby look and is starting to look like a kindergardener. she is such a joy and we are so excited to see her little sister in a few months.
she is excited too and talks about it all the time. she has taken to carrying a baby doll around now...good practice for later.
of course, i couldn't leave out a picture of my handsome boy who will be in the double digits this summer (10 years old). i can hardly believe that it has been ten years already. he is so athletic, so sweet and nice, still doesn't listen too well, but i think that is a kid thing, and we just love him to death. scarlett loves him too and he is so good with her. he started a new season of flag football and this time nick is playing on his team. his athletic abilities have really blossomed this year and he is quite agile. we keep him pretty busy with soccer, football, baseball and schoolwork. he is improving in all of these things. good job bubby...

someone had a birthday.......

2007-02-24T20:52:00.000-05:00

and i dragged her 45 minutes south to our favorite scrapbook store and to el charro restaurant (yum) for lunch. boy, i miss that place. then i dragged her to fort fraser, a fabulous huge wooden playscape around the corner from the restaurant for some birthday photos.
she gamely slid down the slide and swung on the swing for me so i could get these great shots. we froze and her nose got a little red by the end of the shoot.

but we had fun and i just want you to remember that "age is just a number" and "you are only as old as you feel"....even in the dead of winter with your butt plastered to a freezing cold swing seat. thanks, laura, for being such a great sport. and happy birthday, my friend....... and i didn't even mention how old, i mean young, you are...

pssst...36 ;)

a little more history on fort fraser.....

2007-02-24T20:41:00.000-05:00

i was still pregnant with austen when we found out that this huge playscape would be built in our old hometown of fraser. they spent months collecting money and donations for this project. when austen was about 3 months old they got to work. in one week, this project was started and finished, sort of an extreme park makeover, but without ty pennington and his crew. but we did have don mandernach, though who worked on it every night after work. he would haul his tools to the site and work for hours so we could have this wonderful park for the kids.
and one of the fundraisers included selling slats for the fencing. we had two of them, this one and one just for aubrey. in the two years after this was built and before we moved, this was our playground. austen and i came here almost every day in the summertime. lots of mammas and lots of kids for austen to play with. i didn't realize how much i missed this place until we went here today. there is nothing like this around here for the kids. a couple of nice parks and playgrounds, but nothing that daddy helped build.

who do these darling tights belong to???....

2007-02-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

who else. sometimes the best part of having little girls is the fun and funky clothes that we get to dress them in. think about it...the boy section of the children's clothing store is two aisles big, the rest of the entire store is dedicated to girls and their girly fun clothes.
who could resist these tights. and better yet, on clearance at target. and these are the least cute of the three pairs shannon bought for scarlett....and because she is having another girl, they get double use. i just love these yummy legs....all dolled up in funky flowers and stripes.
i think she likes them too...

i need to remember to do this....

2007-02-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

on a daily basis.

what!!!!..it's the new style for boys....

2007-02-22T07:44:00.000-05:00

most of the boys in upper elementary and junior high are wearing their hair longer now. but when this came downstairs the other day...i had my doubts about this hairstyle. it usually looks this way the morning after his bedtime shower. whoa...it usually takes a dousing in the kitchen sink with a quick style with the blowdryer. but then i am rewarded with
this little cutie. mega freckles and all.

and a hairstyle that is a little bit more manageable.
no wonder the girls at school are after him. we love you, boog.

in other news, we have been watching the american idol show this year, for the first time. we usually just watch the beginning when they have all of the crazies and clueless wannabees sniffing around for their 7.5 minutes of fame. but we are enjoying it this year...and don is actually watching it with us. neither he nor i are big reality show watchers (actually not at all) but we really seem like this. the weather finally took a turn for the better the last few days and it isn't so bitter cold. it got into the 40's yesterday and i actually saw someone in shorts. oh well, gotta love michigan.

its a............

2007-02-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

......nother girl!!!!! we are all so excited for scarlett to have a little sister. she, however, was certain that she was having a little brother and was a little confused when we told her that there was a baby girl in mamma's tummy. poor jason, he really wanted to have a little boy this time, but shannon, like her mamma, had two girls first. oh well, jason...there is always next time. ;)
scarlett loves mamma's belly and kisses the baby in there all of the time.
it will be so exciting to see what this baby will look like. blue eyes like shannon and scarlett or hazely green brown like jason's?? blond hair or dark like daddy's??? happy baby like scarlett or difficult baby??? the due date was moved back from july 4th to june 29 based on the ultrasound measurements. and speaking of the ultrasound...the tech was 90% sure that this one is going to be a girl. i think jason is going to hold out for the 10%...just to shift the balance of testosterone in the house.
whatever the baby really turns out to be...i'm sure that it {she}will be as wonderful as scarlett is. we love her so much. and shannon and jason are great parents and will have so much love to give this next little one. just look at them...beautiful mother and daughter.

"the big chill".......

2007-01-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

that was the title of austen's winter concert tonight. all of the songs related to "snow days" and how the kids long for them every year, "even if we have to make them up in june" as one of the songs went. they were all so cute, dressed in their sunday best.

lots of dancing and action with the singing. i was amazed at how good and in key the fourth grade sounded. they must have a wonderful music teacher. everyone knew their lines, the songs and the gestures.

austen, however, always manages to take things to the extreme with his class clown tendencies.
we really enjoyed this concert. short and sweet and the kids are still so cute at 9 & 10 years old.

guns.......

2007-01-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

that's what austen calls them..."mom, you have to take a picture of my guns"
he was more than happy to show off his muscles since he has been playing football. he was in a goofy mood the other night and ripped his shirt off to flex for me.
he told me that he has "four-pack abs" and just needs two more for a "six pack".....i told him he couldn't be considered "too manly" with his zipper hanging open....

i guess he takes after his dad.....:)

scenes from an ice storm.....

2007-01-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

we didn't just get winter gradually this year. it hit us like a ton of bricks. we had very warm weather all through the holidays...to the point of trees budding and crocus shoots starting. but this past week winter started off with a small bang...namely, a rather mild ice storm.
i love this picture...if you look closely in the middle of the picture you will see a very tiny but perfectly shaped snowflake. i think this is amazing. how lucky to capture this.
i bet you'll never guess what this is a picture of...give up yet? it is a water meter.
i love the way the leaf is enclosed in the ice. nature is amazing.

they say pregnant women glow.....

2007-01-14T19:43:00.000-05:00

they are right......
she glows...

more and more each day...

you are beautiful.

can you just see the attitude in this face?......

2007-01-09T22:49:00.000-05:00

so sweet, so lovely, so wonderful. a face that belies her personality. she is so like her mother was at that age, tall, smart and beautiful...and she is so unlike her mother was at that age, strong willed, sassy and bossy. she has complete control over champ and he cowers when she comes near him. if he touches one of her stuffed animals, she will yell at him "NO CHAMPERS" and drags him by the collar over and into his cage. we love her beyond life. thank you shannon and jason for giving us this exquisite gift.

life with champ...chapter 16...

2007-01-08T22:17:00.000-05:00

i guess it was our fault. we left the tray of chocolate candy left over from the party at the field's house on saturday up on our counter...at the back of the counter...in an area where champ's electric fence collar will beep, and most likely shock him if he gets too close to that side of the kitchen. our fault that he probably got shocked 4 or 5 times as he ate every piece of chocolate candy off of that tray in the time it took for don to take austen to the dentist. yup, i should have put that chocolate up into the cupboard, with the child lock so the dog couldn't get at it. as everyone knows chocolate=death for dogs. well, we shoved some hydrogen peroxide into his mouth (per his vet) and waited...for him to vomit. which he did, three times. he started to act like himself, albeit a little bit hyper from the caffeine and sugar in the chocolate, shortly thereafter. everything back to normal...right?....oh, no. not our dog. he needed to go back outside about an hour later and we didn't think anything of it. i don't know why i checked, but i did, and found that the piles of his vomit were gone...yes folks, our...dog....ate....his....vomit....all....three....piles....of....it.....
frozen in the snow, no less. so we started him on his second round of the hydrogen peroxide. he knew what was coming this time and really fought us trying to give it to him. i knew that turkey baster had more than one use. shot that stuff right down his throat, i did. he gave up the poison again and don was outside right after scooping it up and disposing of this batch. he is now imprisoned in his cage for the night. i hear him downstairs pacing and circling in his cage because i took his nice big fluffy bed out of it and threw a couple of bath towels in there in case he pukes during the night. they were old towels too, in case i just want to throw them into the trash instead of washing them. i think he really can't believe that i didn't put his big fluffy bed back in his cage for him, spoiled brat...hopefully i won't wake up to a mess.

'nite all.

sweet (chocolate) dreams champers...

2007-01-07T22:15:00.000-05:00

http://aliedwards.typepad.com/

new years eve.....

2007-01-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

was spent at our house. we usually do not go out on new years eve because it's just too dangerous to drive home from wherever you are and the prices of everything are all jacked up anyway. shannon and jason went out for the very first new year's evening since they got married because shannon always worked on new years eve. we kept scarlett overnight and kelly and ron and the girls and becky from texas came for a dinner of steak, twice baked shrimp stuffed potatoes and salad. we just spent a nice quiet evening....
watched football, played with the kids and the camera and i think don and i were in bed by 12:10 am.
this, unfortunately, was about the best it got on new years day though. michigan was blown out by usc so that was a little disappointing. but we got to watch this pathetic game on curtis and laura's brand new...57 inch...projection hdtv. wow. the picture quality was amazing. we are going to HAVE to get a tv like this...someday....
yesterday we went to a party on my mom's side of the family. more family fun, great food and a chance to see cousins we usually only get to see once or twice a year. i love this picture of us. since i am usually manning the camera, we don't get too many of the two of us.
happy belated new year to everyone.

bad blogger, bad, bad blogger

2007-01-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

i can't believe i am just getting around to posting about christmas and the new year. christmas, of course, as always, goes by in a blur of activity and family events. this year was no different. austen seemed a little disappointed when he ran down the stairs on christmas morning because it looked a little bare under the tree this year. we did try to cut back on presents (or maybe they were just a little less but expensive little packages). he got everything he wanted, however, and more. he got an ipod, a wii game system, (which didn't arrive until dec. 26 thanks to and extremely lucky coincidence of pulling into the parking lot at eb games as the ups driver was walking back to his truck. they had gotten 3 systems in and i was third in line), some nutcrackers to add to his collection and lots of u of m clothing and gear.

champ even got some fun toys from santa including this long chew toy. i think it lasted about 6 hours. i got my camera lens that i was coveting (85mm 1.8 prime portrait lens) which i love. don got some books, movies and tools. we did a lot of traveling to family homes on christmas eve and christmas day so we were feeling a little tired when it all ended. but it is always so nice to get together with family and it is always a feast.

all is calm....all is bright....

2006-12-25T08:06:00.000-05:00

merry christmas to you and yours......from don, cindy, austen and......

champ.

$15 at target......

2006-12-24T13:15:00.000-05:00

and a whole lotta happiness...and i can keep it up after christmas because it looks more like winter than christmas. at target...in the dollar spot...gotta love that!''

glass ball ornaments
felt clothes and purple pompoms for garland and girly purses and shoes as ornaments. scarlett loves it and calls it "my tree"....

two words....oreo balls

2006-12-21T07:34:00.000-05:00

i made these little lovelies on sunday. wow.....i don't think i have ever made an easier sweet treat before...pulverize a package of oreo cookies, mix with a package of cream cheese, roll into little balls and dip into melted milk chocolate. finish with some squiggles of white or dark chocolate and voila....pure heaven. the first picture are the ones i made with mint oreo cookies and drizzled with dark chocolate...ooh.
these are made with regular oreo cookies and drizzled with white chocolate. i will be bringing these for christmas eve this year. so if you are part of my family and are coming to the christmas eve party, you will get to try these.

in other news....austen and his flag football team won the league championship last night. he is quite the football player and had turned into quite an impressive athlete. he is so skinny and wiry that he was really good at evasive maneuvers and it was really hard for the boys to get his flag.
they didn't know until the end of the night that they had won the championship because they had to wait for the (previous) number one team to finish their game. that is why they have two different t-shirts on in the pictures. the second picture t-shirts say league champions on them. great job austen....

meet my neighbors...

2006-12-15T23:25:00.000-05:00

fabulous people, they are. tina is my personal trainer and three times a week she kicks my butt in her basement gym. but it works and i am 20 lbs lighter. (thanks, tina). she is 4 months pregnant and i can't wait to do newborn baby pictures. we did a photo shoot last weekend to try to get a good picture for a christmas card for them. little eden just does not like to have her picture taken...or maybe it's just me. i think that's it, she just doesn't like me...or that big black camera that i stick in her face.
i did manage to get some good ones in of mom and dad...
and even a few good ones of eden too. but she tired of the session quickly...and let us know in no uncertain terms that she was done....

happy holler days...

a little christmas quiz....

2006-12-15T22:57:00.000-05:00

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate by far..

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? he wraps them in santa paper...

3. Colored lights or white lights on tree/house? white on both...

4. Do you hang Mistletoe? no...

5. When do you put your decorations up? we try to get them up just before thanksgiving...if not, the weekend after thanksgiving...

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? turkey and all of the trimmings...

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? lining up as a child youngest to oldest to come into the living room on christmas morning...

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? what truth?? i still believe...

9. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? lights, garland and mostly reproduction antique victorian ornaments that we have been collecting since we were married with a few kid made ones thrown in...

10. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? not usually...

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? love it...but hate the long winter...

12. Can you ice skate? yes...

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? probably when i got my senior class ring for christmas when i thought i wasn't getting one at all...

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? the traditions that we have formed as a family and just the coziness of the whole season...

15. What tops your tree? A paper angel..but we need to get a real topper..

16. What's your favorite holiday tradition? baking christmas cookies and passing them out to our neighbors...

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? giving...but that doesn't mean i don't like to receive too ;)..

18. What is your favorite holiday dessert? anything with chocolate in it...

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? do you hear what i hear? and the carol of the bells..

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? yum..

21. What is your favorite Christmas special/movie? a christmas story...with ralphie and the red rider bb gun...

he is so sick....

2006-12-11T14:25:00.000-05:00

poor little baby. between 6:00 pm last night and 2:00 am this morning, i think this boy threw up 12 times. he kept asking me "when am i going to stop throwing up, mom?" what do you tell them???
we pulled his mattress into our room and he slept at the foot of my bed so i could hear if he was getting sick. it works out good this way because he is with me but not in bed with me (i would freak if he threw up in my bed). i can always tell when he is about to throw up because he just starts thrashing in the bed and it gives me time to get to him and make sure that bowl is under his chin. don slept in the spare bedroom because he had to get up at 4:00 am for work this morning. he is scared to death that he is going to catch this. so much for the flu shot. austen woke up this morning at about 8:00 am with a 102 fever but the vomiting was done and over with...thank goodness...and then he fell back asleep at about 9:00 and slept until 11:30. he is asleep again. his cheeks are so flushed from the fever. he hasn't moved off of the couch all day.
being home from work has enabled me to get 3 loads of laundry done, most of the presents for christmas wrapped and dinner won't be out of a cereal box tonight. however, i know that work is going to suck when i go back tomorrow because everything will be left for me to catch up on. oh, well, the joys of motherhood.

sleep tight little man...

santa's little elf....

2006-12-03T19:49:00.000-05:00

got a few christmas card pictures done yesterday. we also made about 15 dozen cookies and i had a photo shoot with leanne and her family (she does my hair). very productive day, i would say.
i love this picture of us with champ...mostly because he is licking the face off of austen. i would have picked this picture for our christmas card but you can't see enough of austen's face. all you can see is champ's tongue.
i also got this picture of the littlest elf, miss scarlett. she is darling. and was very cooperative for the photo shoot with her mamma and daddy. candy canes and santa hats always work for a bribe.
just look at this sweet family of 3 1/2....:)

i got a new camera today. my old one just was not working very well lately, struggling to focus and it was very difficult to get a good shot off. i bought it at costco and was able to return it for an exchange for the new upgraded version of the canon digital rebel, the xti....it is a little different than the old one so there is a little to relearn, but nice new features. i tell ya, costco is the way to go, no questions asked return policy and since i saved my receipt, i got the full amount that i paid for my digital rebel and was able to upgrade at no extra cost to me. gotta love that. i made a pot roast today...for the first time...ever...i didn't even know what to do or how to make it... thanks, kelly for the instructions. everything turned out delicious. and don was once again amazed at my culinary prowess in the kitchen.

apparently the war in iraq has spilled over into dickens village, england.....

2006-11-20T21:48:00.000-05:00

after working on our dickens village decorations last night, we were watching some tv. austen started hauling toys downstairs to play. we didn't really pay attention to what he was doing but noticed that he was over by the bookcase where we were putting the village up. this morning, however, i saw him tinkering with the pieces and told him not to touch them....he just laughed and said "look, mom". the poor villagers were now surrounded by army men and some were even being held up. his little mcdonald's happy meal hummer suv's were strategically placed near the army men as well...

these poor unspecting villagers were just going along, minding their own business...
what an imagination this kid has...gotta love him

well, that sucked.....

2006-11-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

no internet for a whole week...i swear it almost killed me. i had about 5 minutes at work to check my email every day....so not enough time. when i called comcast last thursday, they told me that they were making some upgrades to the system and two days later, i called again and they could not make the repairs over the phone but they weren't able to get to the house until the next thursday, (yesterday). ugh. so, back to normal for me, i have my internet and email and blog, so cindy is a happy girl again.

someone had a birthday this week........

2006-11-17T21:19:00.000-05:00

actually two, no three, very special people. scarlett turned 3, shannon turned 25 and david turned um, 46 (ha-ha). shannon decided to do cupcakes this year and we had so much fun decorating them...then using this cool cupcake tree to display them.
we made a special cake just for scarlett, one where she could blow out the candles...i know there are four candles on her cake but we figured, the more the merrier.

unfortunately, scarlett was not too excited to blow out her candles this year. she absolutely refused and got a little shy when we tried to sing "happy birthday" to her and simply walked away from the table.

we brought her back to the table but she refused to blow out the candles...so her cousins did the job for her....

...but that didn't go over too well either, she was not happy about that at all. in the end, she blew out one candle and the cousins got the other ones again. eventually, though, she did stop crying long enough to open her presents and in the end, enjoyed her birthday. happy birthday, scarlett. and happy birthday to my beautiful daughter, shannon, i love you....and that new life you are carrying. and to my favorite brother, david...we love you and happy birthday, old man.

it just makes my stomach hurt...

2006-11-03T19:13:00.000-05:00

with children, the days are long but the years are short...

every day he waits....

2006-11-03T17:05:00.000-05:00

at the window....he hears the bus and his ears perk up. he knows austen is coming home. he runs to the back window because austen comes home through nick's house and yard. he stands on my good chair and puts his scratchy-nailed feet on my coffee table...and he waits...

and then he runs to the back doorwall because that is the door that austen enters through. and his tail wags and his whole body wags and shakes...and he knocks the rug out of place because he is so excited...and he waits...

and then austen comes into view and he goes spastic...he wags so hard that he can hardly stand up and his feet almost go out from under him...and he waits for that door to open....

and it is true love....at least on champ's part....

happy halloweenie......

2006-10-31T08:15:00.000-05:00

this was austen's attempt at pumpkin carving this year. of course, he had to draw his face first before he cut. he wanted it to have a surprised look to it....well he surprised us, alright. he asked me to cut the eyes out because he could not go around in a circle. as i was doing that don was watching and started laughing...and laughing. i looked at him and he said "did you look at that pumpkin". when i glanced, i saw that marking and started laughing too. austen was blissfully unaware, {thank goodness}.
this is the final product with some help from mom to remove the offensive appendage from it's face...
this is a picture of our pumpkins this year. the one on the right, austen's and the one on the left, mine.
and this is our little ghoul this morning before school

HAPPY HALLOWEEN...

a letter to my dog...

2006-10-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

dear champ,
i am not a dog person…i never was…i fought getting an animal for the fifteen years that daddy and i have been married. then things changed….daddy got sick and had to have chemotherapy….”i really think that having a dog will help me get through chemo” he told me… and i believed him. and finally relented. and believe me, we did our research. we wanted a dog that was a good family pet, didn’t shed or drool (especially drool), was active and good with kids. but we couldn’t just go to the dog pound and pick up a mutt…oh no…we had to have a vizsla because they met all of our criteria. do you think we could find one in michigan? nooooo…we had to have you flown in from IOWA…at our expense, and on july 2, 2005 we went to detroit metropolitan airport and picked you up. we never told anyone we were getting you. we simply brought you home one day and invited the family over for a fourth of july party. and you impressed everyone, especially your uncle randy, when you took a huge dump on the kitchen floor in the middle of the party…in front of everyone. yeah, that was quite an entrance. everyone was more astounded by the fact that i, the dog hater, now had a dog. it has not been an easy ride with you. we got an active dog alright, you cried for 4 hours that first night with us. that was easily remedied though, we brought your crate into our bedroom the second night and things were much better, you slept through the night…you just didn’t want to be alone. we found out that vizsla’s are nicknamed “the velcro dog”. aptly named, let me tell you. they should also have nicknamed you “the chewing everything in sight for the first 8 months dog” and “the piddle on the floor every time I come home from work and pet you dog”. among other names. i forgive you for chewing up my shoes, austen’s toys, the molding on our wall and the legs of my beloved bentwood rocker (which I bought the year I graduated high school), and for ruining my carpeting. and for that time when you ate two sticks of butter, paper and all and vomited into the corner of our couch. we never did find that rotissiere chicken carcass, we assume that you ate it bones and all. but you were very good when daddy was sick, you would lay with him for hours when he didn’t feel good and sit at his feet (or on them) when he did feel good. but do you know what happened? you became my dog… the non-dog loving person in the house’s dog. and you are so protective of me, if daddy pats me on the behind, you just about attack him. (i kinda like that part). so, since we will have you for the next 10-15 years (or however long we let you live here) we need to get a few things straight and set a few ground rules:

1. you get dry dog food. I mix in the canned food as a courtesy to you, a special treat. It does not entitle you to suck the wet food off of the dry food and spit the dry food onto the floor around your bowl. Eat all of it, I’m tired of cleaning it off of the floor...and laying your head in my lap at dinner time will not get you any tidbits of food from the table…from me…daddy is another story.

2. sometimes I forget and leave my bedroom door open when I am changing. keep your nose out of my crotch and my butt. it’s cold. and wet. and that is just gross.

3. my underwear is my underwear, not your chew toy. that is just disgusting. stay out of the dirty laundry basket.

4. the same goes for austen’s and daddy’s socks and underwear. I have had to buy dozen’s of socks and underwear for them in the past few months. chew on your rubber bones.

5. for god’s sake, if you must put your face close to my face, do it before you lick yourself for fifteen minutes. that is just sickening.

6. you are a hunting dog…a bird dog…a water dog. a little rain on your back when you have to go out to pee in the morning will not kill you. suck it up.

7. the same goes for snow, you act like I throw you into the vast wasteland of the siberian tundra. It’s not that bad.

8. quit eating the used kleenex and q-tips out of the wastebasket in the bathrooms. it’s repulsive. really repulsive.

9. stop jumping on nana, she hates it.

10. daddy will kill you for sure if you dig up any more of his perennials or rose bushes. he takes pride in his yard and garden, so be respectful of that.

11. bees, hornets and wasps sting…. you’d think you would have learned your lesson from the first time you got stung in the mouth.

12. i know you are a hunting dog, but turtles are off limits. they migrate from our pond to the pond across the street every spring. leave them alone…the neighborhood children are traumatized when they see one that you’ve chewed and dismembered. one of these days, you are going to try to sink your teeth into a snapping turtle. then you’ll see….

If you can follow these few rules, I think things will work out and we may keep you. If not…well…..

Love, mamma

let me see, i think yesterday's date was october 12........

2006-10-13T17:07:00.000-04:00

not december 12...what the...this is not dandruff in my hair....it is {dare i say it}that 4 letter word that most michiganians dread each year...snog...snof...smow..snot...geez my fingers won't even type the word...SNOW. yes folks it was snow.
in october
before halloween
before thanksgiving
in the middle of fall for pete's sake.
michigan winters are legendary but we usually get to winter before we have to deal with this crap. snow squalls all day long. the weatherman said that if the ground had been frozen we would have had 4-5 inches of accumulation.
this is amy. i work with her. i don't know why i brought my camera to work yesterday but i'm glad i did. we went out for pictures twice..amy really "experienced the snow" literally.
not only was it snowing, it was windy, very windy. the snow was coming in sideways with a windchill of about 20 degrees.

i thought this was the year of el-nino, you know, milder winters. oh well, i guess we have to get to winter first....

guess what i got for my birthday today.....

2006-10-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

a urinary tract infection!! happy birthday to me. i feel like crap. it came on suddenly this afternoon at work, thank goodness i work in a doctor's office. three days of bactrim ds horse pills. these things are seriously huge and hard for me to swallow. ugh. i will post again when i feel better about the really cool things i got for my birthday. i want to go to bed now.....

here are some more pics from nanny's birthday lunch....

2006-09-28T10:30:00.000-04:00

scroll down to see the rest....click on each picture to enlarge it...

and a few more......

2006-09-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

and even more pictures...

2006-09-28T10:19:00.000-04:00

nanny's birthday lunch....

2006-09-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

shannon, scarlett and i took mom out for lunch for her birthday. we went to beale street smokehouse for lunch (delicious brisket) and then to the mill pond in fenton for pictures. i have been wanting to take 4 generation pictures for way too long and was able to get a few taken of the four of us. gotta love the self timer feature on the camera. it was a beautiful afternoon weather-wise and i am happy with most of the pictures. thank goodness for photo editing programs so i could crop part of my fat butt off. scarlett is getting so big, i can hardly stand it. just look at how she is looking at me. she was just precious, totally cooperative for the pictures and stood just where i posed her and smiled on command. i love her...

the waitress at the restaurant took this one for us, she was so sweet.
this was the coolest green door....very urban...with the graffiti on the bottom. i love this picture of shannon. she is so beautiful and getting more beautiful by the day. not only is she beautiful, she is sweet and kind and good, everyone loves her and for good reason. she is the best and i love you honey! happy birthday mom. i love you.

scenes from the faire....

2006-09-28T09:24:00.000-04:00

we went to the reniassance festival a couple of weeks ago and had a lot of fun. expensive though...it's been about 5 years since we've been there and i was amazed at how much the price of everything had gone up. five dollars for a turkey leg???? sheesh....lucky for us we had free tickets to get in to the faire. it was also a lot more technically updated since the last time i was there too. all of the characters had headset microphones so they didn't have to shout too loud for their performances. and now they use blackberry palm devices to run the credit cards for payment of their overpriced food and souvenirs.
this new feature (ride) was fun for austen, harnessed in and launched hydrolically (is that spelled right??) into the air from a trampoline. launched high into the air. he loved it and he laughed and laughed. i wanted to go on it too but it was too soon after surgery for that. they also had a rock climbing wall for the kids and he tried that too. there were lots of activities for the kids. the people that ran the activities for the kids were great with them. i think that is one of my favorite things about the reniassance festival, the characters and how they act the roles they portray. they really seem to enjoy their work.

we got home just in time to watch michigan kick notre dame's butt!!!! awesome game. M go blue....

September 11, 2001........

2006-09-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

our family will never forget.....

it's fall weather.....

2006-09-10T14:10:00.000-04:00

which means it's apple orchard time in the mandernach household. we love apple picking, it's one of our true fall traditions, i don't think we've missed a year since we've been married. it was cool (almost cold) today and overcast, perfect for apple picking
and cider and doughnuts. we didn't get cider though, they wanted $6.00 for a gallon...gaaaaa....i can get it for $2.00 at the grocery store. we did get doughnuts because there are really nothing like cider mill doughnuts, fresh and hot. we got pumpkin cinnamon and powdered sugar. yummmmm. we also got some kettle corn. nothing like that either.

the trees were laden with apples this year. i don't think i've ever seen the trees so full. easy to pick and big and juicy. this was our haul this year.
don got a few pictures of me this year but i had to fire him as back up photographer because most of them turned out blurry..dang it....he did get a few good ones though of austen and i. i guess i need to train him better. oh, well....off to make some apple pies....

this pretty much sums up my hospital stay......

2006-09-09T15:18:00.000-04:00

why on earth would they put me in the same room with an 83-year-old crazy cat lady? this woman kept me up almost my entire first night after surgery...i truly only got about 1-2 hours of sleep. she talked to me until 1:30 am about her cats, her son....who was brain-injured after being beaten up by drug dealers....and who now lives with her and her cats....but doesn't work..."but he is a really good boy"...and all he does is shop and now has 92 pairs of jeans and 124 t-shirts...and he is mean to her sometimes..."but he is a really good boy"....and how she had a stroke a few years ago and her doctor told her to talk...alot....so now she talks to her plants and her cats and on her cell phone (which she did alot in the hospital)..and to me which she did in run-on sentences, on and on and on and on. i finally told her to stop talking to me because i was exhausted and needed to get some sleep. she did but at 2:30 am she rolled over onto her tv remote and turned on her tv and didn't know how to turn it off so she rang for the nurse who came into the room, flicked on the overhead light and talked really loud (what the...it's 2:30 am!!). she called them again at 3:30 am for something that i was too drugged (maybe not drugged enough) or too exhausted to remember. when the nurse came in at 4:00 am for vitals, i asked for her pen and wrote this note on a napkin...

"you have to get me out of here!!, which i handed to her with a pleading, puppy-dog look in my eyes. she laughed and said, "just a minute", she came back and said,"c'mon, i'll move you to the next door, it's empty. i flew out of the bed so fast and she had to follow me to the next room. "did you have a vaginal hysterectomy", she asked me. "nope", i answered, "i had an abdominal hysterectomy". she told me that she has never seen anyone move with so much speed and agility so soon after surgery. "you'll do anything when you're desperate", i replied. i hopped into that new bed so happily, but as everyone knows, there is no rest for the weary in a hospital. and what is up with the nurses coming into your room in the middle of the night, turning on the overhead light and talking in loud voices. i understand that this is your daytime but it is my nighttime and you need to come into my room and gently wake me up, whisper to me and for god's sake, use a flashlight to see.........geez...only one of my nurses did that for me. she was also the one who told me that crazy cat lady told her and all of the other nurses that i kept her awake all night. we all got a good laugh about that one. i was very happy to come home a day early. my recovery has been slower than i expected. i am still very sore today around my incision site but i have tried to remain active. i started walking on a regular basis but i still have to lay down at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon for a rest or a nap. hopefully i will gain more strength as time goes on and i can get some cleaning and reorganizing done around this house.

school has started for another year....

2006-09-05T19:47:00.000-04:00

and hopefully this one will be a better one for austen. he does not like school because he struggles with math and writing. he has improved so much in reading but does not love it like i did when i was his age. i devoured books. he has to be bribed to read. we had him tutored this summer and hopefully that kept him up for this year. anyway, he and nick were so cute this morning. how about this hip-hop stylin' dude?...going into 4th grade....growing up so fast....before my eyes...time please...slow....down....

nick is going into 3rd grade and austen is going into 4th grade this year as you can see by the number of fingers they are holding up. i have taken these pictures every year since first grade and austen has changed so much....i just can't stand it.

i always try to get at least one with me and him for the year.

since he is always so excited to go to school every year he didn't disappoint me with the look as he boarded the bus...for another school year.

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i am.....home

2006-08-25T19:54:00.000-04:00
i was released this afternoon, one day early...(for good behavior, i suppose)...and i am not feeing too bad. a little sore at the incision site but they gave me some pretty good drugs for that. the doctor said it was a textbook case and everything went exactly as it was supposed to. kelly got this picture of shannon and i last night, that is what not showering for two days looks like. i am going to be pretty sore for a few more days but then i expect to feel better. i will update then. i'm pretty tired now.....

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i love nature shots....

2006-08-22T21:37:00.000-04:00
i took these in the yard on sunday...i happened to see this grasshopper on our rudbekia (?) and he let me just snap away. i never realized how intricate they were. click on the pictures to make them bigger.

here he is peeping out from behind the leaf.

his markings are gorgeous aren't they?

this bee just went about his business and totally ignored me. i would love to get a macro lens to get even closer up.

this is the center of a clematis flower that has lost it's petals. i thought this flower stump was so unique. it is amazing what you can see close up in nature that you just take for granted.

i go into surgery tomorrow morning and i am a little nervous tonight. i know everything will go well, i just hope i can sleep tonight. i have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am for a 7:30 am surgery. keep me in your prayers.
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the big event is almost here.....

2006-08-20T09:05:00.000-04:00
three more days until my hysterectomy....seems funny that i could consider this a big event. i truly can't wait until i have this surgery.

for a few reasons...

no more periods
no more anemia
no more dog tired days because of the anemia
6-8 weeks off of work
did i mention no more periods???
time to get caught up on some scrapbooking while i'm off
hopefully get some organization done in this house
purge and reorganize my scrapbook room
it will feel like being a stay at home mom again
quiet time when austen goes back to school
no more periods....

i was supposed to have this done last year..it was scheduled for the end of june and i looked forward to having most of the summer off with austen
then don got sick
and i canceled the surgery
and took care of him...

i will miss working out with my friends next door. i work out with the same group of girls three nights a week. i've worked hard and have lost about 15 lbs in the past 6 weeks. doctor says no working out for 6 weeks but i will be able to walk so maybe i can visit and walk on the treadmill while the other girls are doing the weight training.

it is a quiet sunday morning. scarlett and austen are sleeping. don is at church. he woke up a little late this morning and there wasn't enough time for us to get both kids up and ready. scarlett had a bad night and was up twice crying. i was so tired and just wanted to get back into bed. she finally fell asleep for the night at about 1:30am. she woke up at 7:45 this morning and came to bed with me and fell back asleep. no big plans for today, i think i will try to get some meals cooked and frozen so don won't have to come home from work and cook every night. he'll have enough to do to take care of me for a couple of weeks.
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evan....sleeping

2006-08-18T21:23:00.000-04:00
she was soooo cooperative. slept the entire time, even when we moved her into different positions.

i love these pictures, she is so precious. i had a lot of fun trying different positions and poses.

i don't think there is anything like black and white pictures of a newborn. their skin is just so perfect and dimpled and smooshy. shar-pei skin.

i hope to get the opportunity to do more newborn pictures. they don't run away, almost never cry when they are sleeping and moms don't have to bark out instructions to the child to sit and smile. {i love that part}.

is there anything more beautiful than a sleeping infant? i think not.
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i came home from work...

2006-08-09T21:54:00.000-04:00
to these flowers picked from our gardens......

i love him....
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isn't she precious?.......

2006-08-08T23:01:00.000-04:00
she belongs to our neighbors and is just 3 weeks old. i took these pictures today and had so much fun. we tried to catch her when she was asleep but she was wide awake for the entire shoot.

i really have a thing for baby feet. i love them....but only until they get to be about four or five years old, when they start to stink...then i'm out of there. but there is just something about those little wrinkled, monkey toed little appendages....

she was so good, hardly cried and was a joy to take pictures of. i'm going to try some more in a couple of days, maybe get some of her sleeping so i can pose her better.

i just love little girls...
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surprise!.......

2006-08-08T07:57:00.000-04:00
i opened our front door on saturday night and found this little guy sitting up at the storm door looking at me.

he looks to be just a baby and wasn't scared me or the flash from my camera. he just kind of toddled around on the porch for a while. i was a little hesitant to open the door because they tend to be rabid and all but he totally ignored me when i took his pictures.

after a while he just kind of toddled away into the bushes.

champ, on the other hand, continued to bark for about ten minutes afterward.

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all i did was ask him to clean his room......

2006-08-05T19:36:00.000-04:00
it just wasn't getting done as well as i thought it should be and he got madder and madder and madder......then the very loud door slam....and very audible tears from the other side of the door. a few minutes later, i saw this.....

let me bring it closer so you can read it better.....
and just in case you can't decipher his eloquent spelling it reads "no parents allowed forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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i did a cute maternity shoot last weekend also.....

2006-08-02T07:59:00.000-04:00
christina and mike were so adorable. this is their first baby and they don't know what they are having. dad is a biology/science teacher so pictures in the park were perfect for them. here are a few of the pictures from their album.....

click on the images to make them bigger.
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is it any wonder?......

2006-07-27T19:17:00.000-04:00
this is daddy.....
this is mommy.....

is there any question about how beautiful she would end up being???......

i think not
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it is hell getting old........

2006-07-21T08:04:00.000-04:00

a few years ago i had to start wearing glasses because i could no longer see anything up close. i didn't mind too much and i think my glasses are cool and look good on me. the other day i was putting on my makeup. as i was applying my eyeliner don asked me what i was doing. "duh, i'm putting on my eyeliner". "well, is it supposed to go on clear"?, he asked me. "umm, no it's supposed to be dark brown", i answered. i thought he was really being a smart ass. "well, it's going on clear", he told me. turns out that i had no tip left on the pencil and was not going on at all. sheesh! i think i had been doing that for about a week. eyelinerless, because i can't see up close enough to put my makeup on. i figured that i had been doing it so long i really didn't need to get too close to see. i could do it from memory. turns out, i was wrong. it is hell getting old{er}
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such a handsome boy.....

2006-07-20T07:48:00.000-04:00
we love him so much..{most of the time} :). he is so exuberant and happy. he enjoys life, he plays hard, he loves deeply and is kind and sweet. he is so funny and at nine years old will still sit on my lap in church and hold my hand and kiss his dad in public. we love you, boog.
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a photoshoot with three little princesses...

2006-07-14T22:47:00.000-04:00
kelly found a house while out driving one day that was beautifully landscaped. she stopped and asked the owners if she could have some pictures done in their yard and ms. pam was gracious enough to say yes. we went there yesterday and it was beautiful. kelly wanted some pictures of the girls done and shannon and scarlett came along too. it was very hot, veeeerrrryy hot even though it was toward the end of the day...
the girls were really cooperative, {well, as cooperative as two 2-year-old's and a 5 year old can be}. we were there for about an hour and a half and had a blast.
so beautiful..isn't she. poor tara was so overheated by the time we finished that the last few pictures of her that i took showed her sweating {glistening, girls don't really sweat, they glisten} and her bangs plastered to her forehead.

madeline stayed as cool as a cucumber, but scarlett and tara just melted. i ended up with a rash on my arms from laying in the grass to get some of the shots.

i worked out again today and this time it was my legs and shoulders. man, pain, big time. my arms feel better though. i'm on furlough until tuesday night, then it's back to tina's house of pain. and i'm not kidding about the pain.
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i've been spanked.....

2006-07-12T19:59:00.000-04:00
by my own daughter...she called me yesterday and gently reminded me that i have not posted about her on my blog. how pathetisad is that?? how could i not...aren't they gorgeous?? such a horrible mother, i am.
these pictures were taken on july 4th at our house.

jason was such a good sport and took direction very well from his mother-in-law of all people
is it any wonder scarlett is as beautiful as she is?

so shannon, i am sorry i neglected you...it won't happen again...
love, mom
{the stupidork}
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meet aidan......

2006-07-12T19:37:00.000-04:00
his mom leanne does my hair. she wanted me to take 4 year pictures of aidan, {who is now closer to 5 than 4}. he did not want me to take pictures and told his mom so before they got to my house.
we went to my favorite spot for pictures, the abandoned house, and aidan brought his dinosaur toys with him. that sort of broke the ice with him because i wanted him to hold the dinosaurs in some of the pictures. i think he liked that. however,... it was not easy soliciting a smile from him...until i started making the farting noises and letting him say "booty". that just cracked him up.

i'm now looking forward to doing big brother brenden and the rest of the family. isn't he cute??
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princess eden turned one...

2006-07-12T19:13:00.000-04:00
my next door neighbor's daughter eden turned one and had a big party last saturday. the weather was perfect and we had a blast. i took lots of pictures of the event. so much fun and good food too. there was a huge bounce house, a water slide, baby pool and slip-n-slide...lots of kids and lots of fun.

here is princess with her scepter...so cute.

she loved her little pool and didn't mind the freezing water.

in exchange for pictures, eden's mom is going to be my personal trainer. i started last night and again this morning. holy crap, am i sore today. i go back friday night for more torture to tina's house of pain.... and i'm not kidding about the pain...
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happy 4th of july......

2006-07-04T22:45:00.000-04:00
from our family to yours...
THE AMERICAN FLAG

When freedom from her mountain height
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night,
And set the stars of glory there.
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies,
And striped its pure celestial white,
With streakings of the morning light;
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle bearer down,
And gave into his mighty hand,
The symbol of her chosen land.

Joseph Rodman Drake
(1795-1820)

"Four score and seven years ago, our
fathers brought forth upon this continent
a new nation, conceived in liberty and
dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal..."

"...that this nation shall, under God,
have a new birth of freedom, and that
government of the people, by the people,
for the people, shall not perish from
the earth." Abraham Lincoln

Let martial note in triumph float
And liberty extend its mighty hand;
A flag appears 'mid thunderous cheers,
The banner of the Western land.
The emblem of the brave and true.
Its folds protect no tyrant crew;
The red and white and starry blue
Is freedom's shield and home.
Other nations may deem their flags the best
And cheer them with fervid elation
But the flag of the North and South and West
Is the flag of flags, the flag of Freedom's nation.
Hurrah for the flag of the free!
May it wave as our standard forever,
The gem of the land and the sea,
The banner of the right.
Let despots remember the day
When our fathers with mighty endeavor
Proclaimed as they marched to the fray
That by their might and by their right
It waves forever.

***John Phillip Sousa, 1896***



America, beloved land,
we love your legacy
of freedom and justice
for all humanity.

America, beloved land
forever may we strive
to keep your wondrous, shining dream
of liberty alive.

Freedom . . . . is one of the most precious gifts that heaven has bestowed upon men; no treasures that the earth holds buried or the sea conceals can compare with it; for freedom, as for honor, life may and should be ventured.

—Miguel de Cernates
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ali is in da house.....again...

2006-07-03T18:52:00.000-04:00
allison is spending a week with us. we love having her, mostly because we use her as a babysitter and make her do all of the housework!!! kidding. we love her, and she loves being here.
dave and tina came out with chris and ali yesterday as well as dad and kelly and ron and the girls. we had a barbeque and the weather was great. all week long they have been predicting rain but so far so good. the guys played poker after eating and the girls talked and watched movies. you know, a typical mandernach party :) he he.

she took this picture of austen and has just been having a blast with my camera. the girl needs to get into photography....
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and the girl is a natural with the camera....

2006-07-03T18:36:00.000-04:00
allison has a knack for photography. she is an amazing artist {from a very young age} and it shows in her photography skills. she took these pictures as don and i were lazing on our NEW PATIO CHAIRS that we bought to go on our NEW PATIO.

she took these pictures down by the pond and got some amazing shots. man, there are some interesting things in that pond. she got pictures of snakes, turtles, birds {not sure what kind that one is but it has been hanging around for a couple of days now} and of course, the dragonflies. i haven't had the camera too much, she always has it in her hands. love this girl...
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deer creek estates summer celebration....

2006-06-25T13:23:00.000-04:00
we had a great time at our subdivision summer party. we had a pretty decent turnout and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. we had perfect weather, about 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. i was the official photographer for the event and got some really fun pictures...like this one...

we had a bounce house for the kids and cooked hotdogs. everyone brought either a salad or side dish or a dessert and there was a lot of food for everyone.
the mundy township fire department sent over a fire truck and the truck led the bike parade down the street. the kids loved it.

df
we also had a scavenger hunt, three-legged race, water balloon toss and watermelon seed spitting contest. a perfect way to spend a perfect saturday in good ole' grand blanc.
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happy father's day, dad....

2006-06-18T22:10:00.000-04:00
we love you...

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he's plugged in......

2006-06-18T21:52:00.000-04:00
we celebrated austen's birthday yesterday with a few of his friends...

this was his face when he saw his present...

he was so excited to get his wish after months of begging us and us telling him he was out of his mind if he thought he was going to get one of these......

an electric guitar...i know, i know, we must be out of our minds..an electric guitar, what were we thinking...
he is beyond happy about this gift. it came with a digital tuner, strap, carrying bag, picks and an amplifier.

he is now plugged in....can we talk ear plugs????
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my baby is "9" today......

2006-06-16T21:54:00.000-04:00
he awoke to a birthday muffin and celebrated the morning with champ {who obviously really wanted that muffin}. austen was surprised to see the candle in the muffin....
next stop was the barber shop where we had promised him he could have a mohawk {modified} for the summer. he wanted spikes in his hair so the hairdresser gave him some...he loves it...
austen then got to pick where we went for dinner and he chose red robin. he wanted nick to come along so we obliged. he and nick had pizza and shakes, and because it was his birthday, the red robin crew came and sang happy birthday to him. we even got our waitress to take a picture of us.
our last stops were the new barnes and noble bookstore and then to ziggy's, our favorite local ice cream stand. nick has a napkin on his head because while austen was trying to buckle his seatbelt and accidently stuck his ice cream cone into nick's head. we got a good laugh out of that one. we are going to celebrate his birthday tomorrow with a few of his friends and he will get his presents then. i can't believe he's nine.... already....so fast....blink....
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meet the clarke's....

2006-06-14T07:59:00.000-04:00
on sunday i did a family photo shoot at the old abandoned house i posted about a few weeks back. it turned out to be an absolutely great place to take pictures and i am really happy with the results.
the kids were sometimes less than cooperative but warmed up after a short time. the old house was great with it's peeling paint and the old bench added to the vintage feel of some of the pictures....
like this one....
alex {on the left} was a little worried when we got there because of the no trespassing sign but i think this is one of my favorite pictures of the boys...
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these pictures included dad.....

2006-06-14T07:44:00.000-04:00
we took these in my yard later in the day when the kids were even less cooperative. but they still turned out pretty well i think.
danny, of course was done having pictures taken...
a little harder to get everyone to look at me and smile, but that's ok. i like real life and everyone's individual personalities.
isn't she beautiful.. a great mom.. and an even greater friend...i'm lucky.
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this is danny, alex, nick and megan.....

2006-06-14T07:39:00.000-04:00

just some more pictures

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