Today is my sister's birthday! I know how old she is, even though she can never remember her age. :)

Weekend in Review

We had a very nice weekend. Saturday afternoon, we dropped the boys off at my sister Kelly's house and Eric and I took off for Cincinnati. We went to Jungle Jim's. That place is huge! We were there over two hours. We could have stayed at least two more hours, but we wanted to go out to dinner and not be too late in picking up the kids. I was amazed by their produce section. Seriously, I mentioned to Eric that I didn't even know God created that many types of produce. Some of the veggies I saw, I wouldn't have even known how to prepare.

Eric bought me a case (yes a case) of my favorite European chocolate bars, called Crunchie bars. They are made with sponge toffee and covered with chocolate. So good. I got all kinds of new spices to play with, and plenty of produce. Eric got some Horchata in the Mexico section. Horchata is a rice drink Eric had when he was in Mexico last. He really liked it, and I wanted to try some for myself.

After we left Jungle Jim's, Eric took me out to dinner at Montgomery Inn, a well-known BBQ Rib place in Cincinnati. He made the plans and surprised me on the way by letting me know that's where we were going. It was really, really good.

As we arrived at the restaurant, my sister called to let me know that she was going to bring the boys back home and put them to bed for us and just read her book until we got home. She said to take our time and have fun. What a sweetie! We actually got home at 10:30.

She gave us a recap of the day with the boys when we got home. Drew has been afraid of stairs for awhile, so I was a little concerned when we got there and everyone was in their basement. They said they'd come back upstairs for him and not to worry. Eventually, my brother in law carried Drew downstairs. The kid weighs 83lbs! Tony said Drew had a death grip on him. But he was really happy when he got down there. They have lots of toys, a mini trampoline, and a television down there. So he had fun. When he had to go to the bathroom, he went up the steps himself. And the next time he wasn't as scared to go down. Yay Drew! While they were there, Kyle had an outurst and scared Drew (not much scares Blake), so Tony took Drew in his truck to his brother's farm. They went in the barn and saw the animals.

Yesterday, we went to church. The boys stayed with Mom and Dad, and after church we had lunch with them. Eric and I played a game of bowling on the Wii, then we went home to watch Kelly and Tony's kids while they had dance lessons. When they came back, they took our kids home with them so we could go to our dance lessons. Right before we left, our friend Eileen called Kelly to tell her they had two extra tickets to the theater and wanted to know if Kelly and I wanted to go. Of course we did! Our friend Paula and her husband weren't able to make the show, so they kindly gave their tickets to us. (Thanks Pollyanna!) We saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. It was so funny! I thought I'd pee my pants from laughing so hard. Of course, the fact that we got there at the last minute before the show began and didn't have time for a bathroom break may have had something to do with it. Before the musical, we went to The Spaghetti Warehouse which was close to the theater. The food was good, but the waitress was slow! We literally had to run from our car to the theater to get to our seats before they closed the doors.

So, I got home at 10:30 last night, too. Anyway, it was a fun and relaxing weekend, and I am ready to go for the day.

**Updated to add**

Drew's new medication seems to be helping. He is transitioning some better, and being happier and more compliant in general. Of course, nothing's perfect, so we still have some battles, but there is a definite improvement. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers on this matter

Danielle and Me

My sister Kelly, her daughter Danielle, and I went to see our friend Paula and her daughter perform in a ballet production of Sleeping Beauty. Afterward, we stopped for a bite to eat. To my delight, my niece sat with me in the booth. My sister is always calling Danielle by my name and I am called Danielle accidently from time to time. Kelly says that's because Danielle and I are so much alike. Kelly took some pictures of us. It reminded me of being in one of those photo booths.






Here's one of my sister and Danielle.

Weekend in Review

Ok, so I don't think we did anything Friday. If we did, my brain has not retained the information. Oh! I know. Drew got a green card on Friday! Woo-hoo! That is the highlight of Friday, and a good one.

Saturday night, my niece Ashley watched the boys while Eric and I went to a fundraiser at Drew's school. It is a formal affair called Evening Under the Tent. It was so cold in the tent when we got there. I admit we did get there kind of early. Eventually, they turned on heaters that blew hot air at ground level. Our table was positioned well, so we warmed up pretty well. I did keep my sweater on for the most part. They had a silent auction and a live auction. Thre were hors d'oeuvres, and a three station buffet, where they had beef tenderloin, baked chicken and crab cakes. I may be missing something, but if so, it was seafood, which I don't eat, and wasn't paying much attention to the seafood table.

My cousin Annie and my sister Kelly

Steve and Michelle, a couple whose daughter attends the school

Our auction paddle and several half-consumed glasses of Amaretto Sour.

Kelly and me


And Kelly was telling people that I always post bad pictures of others, and good pictures of me (not true!) here is a lovely I took of myself after a few of aforementioned amaretto sours.



Sunday we went to the Oktoberfest parade in Minster. Blake was unhappy, and fell asleep on me for the majority of the parade, and Drew stood behind our chairs flapping and talking to an elderly lady who didn't particularly want to chat with him. We had planned to go to the picnic to listen to the German band and do the chicken dance with the boys, but they both were getting agitated, so we went to McDonalds and home instead. I brought my camera with me to the parade, or so I thought. But actually, I left it in the van. So no pics of that. Sorry. :)

File that trip under...

Best State Fair Trip Yet! Of course, there were a few bumps along the way, but overall, it was a nice time.

First of all, the boys and I picked up Kelly and the kids from their house.

Ready To Go
We took off and stopped right away in Sidney for lunch. We went to Burger King. Drew was happy to learn that they now serve macaroni and cheese. They all had fun wearing their crowns. On the way out, Blake wiped out. He totally landed on his face. Poor kid was knocked senseless. Wha...?
He was fine after a couple minutes. We went on and made it to Columbus. Drew started getting nervous when we got close to our destination. By the time we actually had the key and were at the condo, he was freaking out. He refused to go up the stairs. And he sat down on the ground and screamed and cried. People wandered past and watched the commotion. Kelly and the kids went up and changed into swimsuits and left for the pool. I talked, cajoled, and bribed Drew. It was not to be. He wouldn't budge,. Kelly came back and offered to try. I went to the pool with the kids. And when we got back to the room (after Blake gagged and threw up in the pool) Drew was in the living room of the condo watching iCarly. Thank gooodness. I don't think he'd have ever gone up willingly for me. And believe me, he is too heavy to lift. (I tried!)

Mom and Dad had planned on meeting us in Columbus for dinner, but they were running late, and Kyle was getting agitated. So we went to eat without them. We went to TGI Fridays. Kelly and I both got fettuccine alfredo. We went back to the condo, and this time, Drew was able to go up the steps while holding Aunt Kelly's hand. Unfortunately, the pasta we ate made us both sick. We had talked about going bowling, but neither of us felt well enough to go.

Mom and Dad's room was in the loft. Drew has had a fear about steps for some reason lately, so he refused to go up. But Kyle and Blake did. Friday morning they both went up there and jumped into bed with them. Peek!

Ok, so off to the fair. My dad wanted to take the stroller, so we did and brought the kid-leash along. Drew didn't want to stay with us, so Kelly threatened him with the leash. Eventually Kelly put it on his wrist. And Drew was quite offended. He was so mad at her. It cracked me up. He probably wore it for a grand total of five minutes. And the rest of the day, whenever Kelly wanted to hold his hand, he refused. lol.After that, we went on some rides:Notice they both have their hand in their mouth.Drew was very specific about being in #5.Blake hung out with Grandpa V. quite a bit. Did you see that sky?! Kelly and I took her kids to some bigger rides and Mom and Dad stayed in Kiddie Land with Drew and Blake. No trip to the state fair is complete without visiting the butter cow.

We stopped for awhile and watched a horse show. The kids liked it, though Kyle was eager to get back to the rides. The weather couldn't have been any better. The sky was blue, the temperature was great. We left around five to go to dinner. We ate at Big Boy, and headed back to the fair. We had fun. We went on Rock and Roll You know, the one with loud music? Well, Kyle decided he wanted to ride it by himself. So, Kelly, Danielle and I went in one seat, and Kyle went by himself. He handled the loud music pretty well, but they suddenly blew an air horn. Oh boy. He let go of the car and covered his ears. When the ride was over, he was a little upset, and said, "I hate that ride!" Kyle did love the bumper cars, though. He had a blast in there.

We left the fair arounf ten o'clock pm. And got home late! We had a few mishaps throughout the day, but we had way more fun than work.

Wednesday Already?!

Wow, this week has gone by fast! Eric is in Chicago for database training. He won't return until Friday night. Drew really misses his daddy and asks about him many times a day.

Yesterday was my sister Kelly's birthday.
Here she is with our mom

And cake time. See those roses? Aren't they pretty? Two dozen. Good job, Tony!

Drew wasn't acting like himself last night. He snuck off to the living room and fell asleep while the rest of us had cake. My mom noticed that he felt really warm. I checked his temp, and he had fever. I took him to the doctor this morning. He has an ear infection, and the doctor prescribed Ceftin. Yucky stuff, but if it helps, it's worth the struggle to get it in him.

Tomorrow, I have to go to Blake's IEP. And I have a job interview at the school. It's a position as a cook in the school cafeteria. The IEP is at 1:00 and the interview is at 2:30. Hopefully everything will go smoothly at the IEP, and I won't be delayed!

The antithesis of watching the Superbowl

No, I did not watch it. I went to the theater. My sister and I were offered free tickets from some friends who couldn't go. We saw:




It was at the Schuster Center, where my niece Jennifer was married.

It was so fun! We went with some friends. We went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday beforehand, where I got a sirloin, baked potato and asparagus. Oh! And a Georgia Peach martini. So! Good! I could have stayed there all night drinking martinis. Of course, I'd have gone broke, and missed Chicago, so I limited it to one. lol.

We sat in the balcony. Kelly was funny because she is afraid of heights, and she was gripping the handrail as we found our seats. She was also worried about a guy in front of us who was leaning over the railing.

The show was great. I was so impressed with the dancing! Especially since I have been having a terrible time learning to waltz. Their moves were waaayy more complicated than that, and I can't remember to switch feet on the basic forward. And how great the women looked in their skimpy costumes! These women obviously didn't suffer from self-image issues.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I got home late, so I missed chasing Blake back to bed twenty times bedtime rituals.

My sister is weird

So, last night I went to my sister's house. She said, "Oh! You have to see my new favorite show." She was flipping through the guide, and hesitated for a moment. I said, "Beauty and the Geek is your new favorite show?" She said, "No" like it was the silliest notion ever. "This is!" said she. She clicked to the Live Jewelry Auction channel. She explained it to me in great detail. This woman with red shiny hands and a french manicure put a ring on her finger and the camera zoomed in very close. "They put lotion on their hands before the show" Kelly explained. She complained that the girl who was currently hosting was not as good as the other ones. She said, "She didn't even mention that it is white gold!" And she said, "They get lots of emails from buyers who brought their jewelry to get appraised and it was worth four times the purchase price!"

The premise if the show is that they show the value of the item up for auction. Then they show what they are "willing to let it go" for. People actually call the 1-800 number and watch the t.v. until they see something they want to buy. Then they press 1 to place their order. They always have a limited quantity, like three or seven. And if no one buys it, they drop the price. I guess the risk is if you wait too long, you might lose out on your chance to "win" the ring of your dreams.

Anyway, she said she hasn't bought anything, but I bet it is just a matter of time before she is watching the show, phone in hand, finger poised over the 1 button to lock in her order.

Things aren't always what they appear

Just a funny story from our trip to TN. We stayed at the Wyndham Resort, and one evening before going to a show, we stopped at the activity center where they had internet access. There were three computers in the area. It was right by the entrance. My sister checked her email, and there were two other people doing the same. In walked a man with a set of keys. He walked up to the desk where everyone was online. The man said, "Who is the responsible one here? Ahh, you look responsible" he said to Kelly. "Here, Mr. Smith is going to pick these up. I need you to hold them for him." She said, "Um, how long until he gets here?" The guy said, "Oh, I don't know. You'll be here until eleven, right?" She said, "I am just checking my email, sir. I am a guest here." LOL!