mbeverlygill's Xanga

Happy Howl-oween!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:14:48 GMT

   Busy, busy! Aiden and I went in to Sophia's school for her birthday. All the kids loved the Halloween treat bags we made. The weekend after that was my birthday. 31 now. I got to celebrate with a toothache and dental visit. Yay. That always seems to happen on my birthday for some reason. This past week was also the last week of both of my first two college classes. I finished both final projects by Thursday, so I have officially passed both of them. Monday I start two brand new classes. It's very exciting! I am also busy organizing a scrapbook fundraiser for a local teacher that has breast cancer. It will be Saturday, Dec. 12th, and I just got a sweet deal on a huge space at a church that we can have for the whole day for $30! Awesome.

Happy almost birthday to me!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:13:36 GMT

   So last weekend was Sophia's ninth birthday. Saturday we started off with breakfast at the OCB. Yum. Then we went to the Pumpkin Farm. We looked at all the painted pumpkins, the kids went through the maze, then picked out some pumpkins to take home. Mom bought some ginormous mums. It was chilly, so we then needed coffee and pie. It was a fun day. After we got home, the kids painted their pumpkins. Sophie's is some sort of monster lady with a beard - I don't know. And I helped Aiden paint his like Elmo, but then he wanted to keep his in the house. So Sophie's is on the porch, and Aiden has been carrying his around all week.
   Sunday we went to a fun birthday lunch with most of Sophie's grandparents at Hacienda. Sophie picked Hacienda because she wanted the staff to sing to her, and because she wanted a sombrero. Mom couldn't make it because all the pie, pumpkins and chilly air the day before gave her bronchitis. But she's better now. The lunch was a lot of fun, Sophie got great presents, the food was good, and Aiden stole her sombrero. Good times.
   Tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 31. Ick. This week will also be my last week of my first two college classes. I have to finish my two final projects, and then I will be six credits closer to my first degree. Right now I'm getting a 98 in one class and a 96 in the other, so I could not even do the final projects, and still pass, but I will do them anyway, because I love projects!! And A's. I love A's!!

Ole!

I Need A Vacation.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:09:44 GMT

   In preparation for Halloween, I bought Aiden the Luigi costume he so desperately wanted, and so he's decided that it is regular clothes, and now wears it all the time. It's a nice change from the constant nudity however.

This is the little companion Aiden decided that we needed to get to keep Caramel company. His name is Licorice.

Sophie got a bunch of make-up to play with from my mom last weekend, and has been dolling herself up everyday. This picture is not so bad.

This one, though, is a picture of how she looked before we went out yesterday.

Out in public. Yeah.

Anyway, yesterday I took the kids out to the mall. For selling ten items in her school fundraiser, Sophie had her name entered in a drawing for a hundred dollar bill. And she won. So, shopping she went. Video games, jewelry, pizza, ice cream, and she spent the whole shebang.

She bought some candy for her brother too. The photo below documents the boy's first experience with Pop Rocks.

   So the kids had a great day, but my evening was far from over. After arriving home, we discovered that Aiden's blankie was nowhere to be found. Crap. So I called every store we'd been to at the mall, and nobody had seen it. But I knew it must be there somewhere, so we got back in the car, drove all the way back to the mall, and found that the guy at the pizza place had thought it was a scarf and turned it in to the lost and found. Crisis averted.

   After we got back home, I let the dogs out, and Belle, our beagle took off running before I could get her on her chain. I mean, full out running, down the road, gone. Crap. I had to chase her down in the car, and when I finally found her, she was on another road, and covered in mud. Crap. Now my car needs cleaned out. I'm glad the relaxing weekend is almost over. I need a break from all the fun.

Olan Mills Photoshoot

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:54:39 GMT

So, I took the kids to get their pictures taken awhile back. I was hoping for at least one good one. I should have just handed her my purse when the lady photographer kept snapping away and cackling maniacally. She actually said to me, "Oh, boy, are you in trouble." And I was. But they were all just so cute.

Aiden

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:06:12 GMT

   We made our last beach trip over labor day weekend. I can't wait for fall to get here, but it's still hot out. Very annoying. One hot day last week I went into the 7-11 for a cold soda and came out with a pumpkin spice latte. At least they have the right idea.

Then there was the whole pre-school debacle. Which is a complete no-go. He hated it. He screamed, he cried, I caved. Oh, well, he doesn't actually NEED to go until next fall. We'll call this time practice for next year.

   Aiden's birthday is in December, but we usually have his party in the summer, so we can have it outside and all of the grandparents can come. This year, since the city was digging up our yard, we waited to see how that would turn out before planning anything. When it dragged on and on, and it became clear that our yard was going to be a mess for a WHILE, mom said that we could go ahead and have it at her house. Mom's super nice. And now I have about a month to plan Sophia's birthday. Jeez.

   I am in my third week of college, and up to my ears in writing assignments. Considering I have not been required to write anything more daunting than a grocery list in a decade or so, I think I'm doing pretty well.

P.S.- Isn't it sad that Patrick Swayze died?

P.P.S.- Isn't Kanye West a tool?

What? I've been busy!

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:51:20 GMT

   Plus there was that week my computer was in the shop 'cause the mouse thingy on my laptop stopped working! And I'm in college now! I don't have time to blog. Ok, I'll try anyway.
   So, there was a couple weeks in August when everything broke at once. That was stressful, but everything's fixed now, plus when they were fixing my computer, they gave me way more hard drive space, which was good, because all of my photos were filling it up pretty quick. Someday, I will learn to store them somewhere else.
   I also had to get and learn how to use Microsoft Office, because of the aforementioned being in college now thing. I'm officially a college freshman. I started my first two classes this week. So far, smooth sailing. I had all of my first week assignments done by Tuesday. And they've all received perfect scores. That's just who I am! I need to be done early, and I need A's. I missed being graded. I love the affirmations.
   Aiden starts pre-school on Tuesday. I'm excited for him, but I also know that when he realizes I don't stay in class with him, he is going to FLIP OUT. That should be fun.
   Sophia started school three weeks ago, but has been home sick the last couple of days. Nothing serious. A low fever and a cough. She spent part of Wednesday night throwing up, but that passed pretty quick. Seems like she's back to her old naughty self, unfortunately, it being Friday, I cannot send her back to school tomorrow. A whole three day weekend stretches out in front of us. Darn.
   Monday was a sad day for me. Sunday night I noticed that Jethro, (our giant rabbit), was breathing funny, so Monday morning I made a vet app., but by the time I got dressed and went to pick him up and put him in the car, he was dying. He fell over and stopped breathing right in front of me. I called and canceled the vet and we had a little rabbit funeral in the yard. Aiden's still not sure exactly what happened, and asks a lot of questions. I will miss Jethro. He was super smart, and a loner, and cranky most of the time. I identified.
   We went to the pet store and bought a regular sized (boring) little rabbit that same day. Mostly so the kids wouldn't dwell on Jethro and be sad for a long time. And it worked. The new bunny, named Caramel, has kept them sufficiently distracted. It's just not the same for me though. Jethro had personality.
   Other than that, there's a butt-load of photos I could put on here, but I will try to keep it down to half a butt-load. Enjoy.

The Elkhart Co. Fair-

Aiden's annual check-up at his cardiologist's-

Swim lessons at the pool-

At the Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival-

Aiden being weird-

A new swimsuit-

My poor departed Jethro-

Aiden at the mall-

Sophia and Dorie getting Back-to-School mani/pedi's-

At Troy's mom's-

Last swim lesson of the summer-

The city decided to dig up our yard to replace some water pipes. That was NOT cool.-

Aiden's caterpillar, which he named Wormy-

Parent night at Sophia's school, and Aiden's new big boy backpack-

Sophia-

Coloring, stickers, and a fashion show-

At the Loveway Fundraiser and cookout in Middlebury-

The new bunny, Caramel-

And finally, all the stuff Aiden likes to sleep with. (Yes, that is a sleep mask. I don't know why.)-

See? I told you it's been a busy couple of months...

More beaches and cookouts . . . summer is repetitive.

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:52:41 GMT

Beach, Cookouts and Fireworks . . .

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:51:11 GMT

Sunday, July 05, 2009

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:26:55 GMT

Sophia has discovered that she enjoys fishing. Gross.

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:44:53 GMT