I think we all have something that we depend on to get us through each day.  For some it's an addiction and for others it's just something they look forward to each day.  Let's call that something your "crutch". So what's your crutch? My main crutch is coffee and it is a full on addiction.  If I don't get some of the life giving fluid in the morning, I am cranky and get a headache.  My other crutch is chocolate.  I don't know if it is an addiction or not but I just...

I am feeling blue for a couple of reasons.  A) My hubby is away on business for a week (but I can't complain) I seem to have some sort of flu or cold that has me achy and exhausted; and C) I got a very bad hair cut. I went to the stylist with spiral permed hair that was about to the bottom of my shoulder blades.  It was almost all one length but with long layers.  I hadn't had a trim for about 3 months so it was hard to tell I had layers at all. I told the stylist how l...

I'm afraid I didn't catch the name of the author or the book but I heard a TV program playing in the background the other day talking about the key to happiness.  They talked about the differences in twins when one was a generally happy person and the other wasn't.  One phrase stuck with me, "Attitude of gratitude".  They were saying that feeling grateful for what you have rather than always wishing you had something else is the key to happiness.  I can understand how tha...

I have a theory about why people use drugs:  They are trying to return to their days of childhood TV shows.  Have you ever seen the show "Yo Yo Gabba Gabba"?  What a trip!  It looks like something right out of the late 60s or early 70s.  It totally reminded me of how "groovy" some of the shows I watched as a small child were (like the Electric Company). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is it just m...

Here I am in my new outfit at the Michigan Renaissance Festival.  Brad and I are attending a medieval themed wedding at the end of the month so I figured a new outfit was in order.  It was a chilly day so the cloak was a nice thing to have. Michigan doesn't take it's festival as seriously as other places.  Most people don't dress up and not many at all play along with the language and character.  I know other places won't allow vendors to stray out of period and atten...

I have recently had the daunting task of shopping for a formal outfit.  I am a full figured gal but have usually had good success in finding things that fit nicely off the rack.  I think perhaps having that third baby rectified that for the moment. I found a beautiful black skirt that I loved so I bought that figuring I could find a top in pretty much any style to go with it.  Since dragging the baby store to store to try stuff on hasn't been all that much fun, I figured I woul...

For the second day in a row my baby girl allowed me to get 7hrs of consecutive sleep and this morning the sun is shining and it is over 40 degrees outside!  I feel great!  I feel human again! Prolonged sleep deprivation can cause your brain to become sluggish.  I was starting to fear alzheimers.  I was walking around in a fog every day.  Thoughts drifted off as quickly as they floated in. I think 7hrs is the magic amount of sleep for me.  Not too much, and not...

I recently had an interesting experience.  I initially met my son's friend's mother on the phone then met her in person today and got totally different impressions.  I don't think this has ever happened before.  Sure, some people have seemed a little different in person or I envisioned them looking a little different.  This woman seems very ditzy on the phone and not at all in person. This lead me to wonder what kind of impression I give on the phone.  Do I sound like...

Is she gorgeous or am I just biased?   I'm in love with my little girl.  Her smile is infectious.  That is the face I wake up to in the morning, how could I not wake up happy? She will be 5 months old on the 5th.  Almost a half year has gone by since she entered our lives.  In some ways it seems like she's been here forever and in others, well, it just doesn't seem like it could be 5 months.  She seems bigger, cuter and more fun every day. I hope her smi...

Talking to a 6yr old is always an adventure.  My 6yr old, Ryan, got home from school and was in a very chipper mood.  He told me his teacher was sick and one of his best friends is now on Club Penguin.  For some reason these things made him very happy. Here comes the question I was expecting..."Can I have a cookie?"  Followed by a statement I wasn't expecting at all..."I didn't eat any boogers today."  Wow!  Didn't see that one coming!

Part of the reason I feel I am done having babies is the broken sleep.  It really takes its toll after a couple of months.  If I get a couple of 3hr+ stretches, I'm fine functionally but it is still nothing like getting 6hrs or more of straight sleep. Anyone who has the urge to tell me how to train my baby to sleep through the night or brag about how theirs slept through the night at 3wks, please don't.  We have chosen our method of sleep adjustment with our babies and it worke...

Here's our darling 4 month old, Ashley Grace, sitting on Santa's lap for the first time.  Big brother Alex helped coax the laugh.

Here is the beautiful birth announcement my sister did for me.

Thursday 11/2 I got news that has changed my world.  My best friend since the 4th grade found out she has colon cancer and that it has already spread to her liver.  I was in total shock and disbelief when she told me. She is my age, her children are my childrens' ages; she can't have a life threatening disease!  I can't lose a friend that has been there pretty much my entire life.  She is such a big part of who I am today.  This can't be happening to her! Of course...

Has anyone else out there been plagued with itty bitty fruit flies?  If so, how do you get rid of them?  They are everywhere in my house and are annoying the heck out of me! I don't know if they came in with my apples, bananas or tomatos.  It doesn't matter now.  I realized the were attracted to and drowning in a glass of wine that had been left out so I have placed it away from the kitchen hoping to kill a bunch of them.  It's a start.  They seem to be everywher...