momof2redheads

Coming soon to your home. Our Christmas Card. Every year we try to come up with an idea for this special card. I really like the ones that I am not in. lol I thought we had out did the whole sit by the fireplace thing and last year was outside. For this year we stayed inside and sat on our stairs. We had to move the snowmen a bit but we all squeezed in. The one snowman looks like it is hugging Ryan. Demo is wearing his red shirt but you can't see it. He looked really cute. I got him a short sleeved one but he still didn't like it. Oh well, it is only once a year. We are going to finish decorating today. I have a few more things I need to put out inside but Mike has all of the outside to do. It is supposed to snow tonight. I hope he gets it all done today. I will send him outside in the snow to finish. I had Bunco last night and all the ladies asked about my outside lights. They are usually up by now. Oh well. They are coming soon. I'll take a few pictures whenever they get ...

Well, there is Mike getting ready to carve the Turkey. I was very happy that he was home to make thanksgiving this year. I learned alot last year about cooking a big meal but I really didn't want to do it again. I was happy to sit back and enjoy him cooking. I even slept until 7:50. My mom actually called and woke me up. That was funny since I am always up at 6:30. So I guess I needed a little rest. I had a friend come up from Maryland to enjoy Thanksgiving with us. I was happy to see Stephanie again. Her girls are very pretty and very well behaved. She is doing a great job being both parent s. Stephanie is always so cheerful and always sees things on the positive side. I always admired her for that. No matter what you are going through she can ALWAYS cheer you up. She always makes me laugh. I had a great time with them all. We went shopping in the weeee hours of the morning. When we were done shopping we went and got the girls and went to Christmas market. There was alot to see do...

I am not sure what kind of spider this little guy is but he sure is bright. Mike was mowing the lawn one last time this fall when he saw this little guy hanging from the tree. Mike says he almost ran right into it. I was inside doing some work when he came and got me to see it. It really is kind of ugly. He blended into the leaves. I thought it was funny that Mike came and got me just for a spider. He was definitely dressed for fall. Mike watched him for a little while and then moved him to the street. I thought that was funny because it crawled right back to the tree he took it off of. Hopefully it is home for the holidays and I won't see it anymore.

Sarah, my beautiful, sweet, precious daughter made HONOR ROLL!!!!! This is huge for her. As you all know she made the cheer squad and a rule that I told her right from the start was that if she wanted to stay a cheerleader she had to have good grades. I didn't say she had to make honor roll but she had to have good grades. Well, she showed me, and made it with 4 A's and 3 B's. When we saw her report card online she was smiling from ear to ear. This year Sarah really seems to know what she has to do and it is all clicking. She also has been doing a lot of "projects". Seems her teachers have something every month. She made a scrapbook of her life (including after college and marriage), made a man coming out of a bottle, a plant cell and something else but right now I don't remember. She seems to be liking the projects. Coming up with a bunch of ideas to do them. I try to let her do them just with a little guidance so she doesn't go over board. Honor Roll, WO...

Ok so I have neglected my blogging duties.... sorry. I have no excuse other than the fact that nothing has really been going on. I have been really focused on My Longaberger business and it is starting to show. My goal is to be a speaker at our national convention in July and by selling a little more I might just be able to. I can't tell you how good it feels to really have fun at a job and make some money. I enjoy it so much and look foward to meeting new people. If you want a catalog let me know I would be happy to send you one or even do a show for you.

I thought, as I always do, that once the kids are back in school I would have spare time on my hands. Well this year has been no different than the other years. No time. Laundry, cooking (I cook when Mike isn't home), cleaning, cleaning and more CLEANING. I hate cleaning. It would be easier if the people living in my house would put their things away when they are done with it but they don't. So there fore I must clean up after them. I think I should count my blessings as I have quite a few. One of which I don't HAVE to work. I think I might like to work but I don't have to atleast not yet. I have to say I love my Longaberger business. It is very fun to go out and make a few new friends and make some extra money. So if any of you would like to have a show I will travel! I should tell you that I did take a bustrip to Ohio in September. We had a ball. Ike came across Ohio and killed the electricity at the hotel for a few hours. It was funny eating by candle light. I was g...

I hope you enjoyed the video. I went to Sarah's game this past Saturday to watch her cheer. She did good and you could hear her even when she turned around. This being her first year cheering for football she seems very interested in it. Who knows she might just be a fan soon! Okay Uncles.... she doesn't have one team she likes yet, so recruit her for your team. Uncle Teddy I think she Might be leaning to the Cowboys because her friend likes them. You just never know!

I found this picture the other day and thought it was really cute. Of course don't tell Noah I tought it was cute he might get mad! This picture was taken on our way home from Uncle Teddy's house in June. He talked me into getting the hat for him while we were in Texas by saying he wanted to be Indian Jones for Halloween. He got it as you can see but I refused to by the whip to go with it! It is funny how you are just going along day by day and suddenly you look at your kids and discover that they are growing up right in front of you. Sometimes I wish I could just freeze the moments and just stay quite looking. I have to say all of the kids are doing great so far in school. Sarah knows that she will be off the team if she doesn't keep her grades up. She has been doing wonderful at school and her teachers love her. Noah has also been doing good. He likes his teachers and can't wait to go every morning. B is feeling the stress of her senior year appling for colleges and s...

WOW look at all those candles! He must be old. Yup, he turned 50 this past August. He of course doesn't look a day over 49. The kids thought it was funny to see Dad blow out so many candles this year. I was going to put a little party together however Mike requested that I don't. I guess he just wanted to be a HALF CENTURY OLD without any fanfare. I find it funny to look at him and think that he is 50. I know this year I turned 40 but I met Mike he was 33. I guess in my mind he still is. I have to say we both have changed since our first meeting. Mike had hair and I was thin. Huh, do you think that will ever happen again lol. Mike has not really had a mid life crisis yet. If he wants to have one I would suggest him waiting until the kids are out of the house. lol. Ryan really liked Daddy blowing out the candles, It took him 2 tries to get them all. I told Ryan to hold his ears that the fire alarm might go off because of all the flames. Mike said ha ha but Ryan laughed. Next we ...

Well Sarah got ot wear her cheer uniform to school today. She was excited! I have to say she looks cute in it. I think so anyway, I guess I am bias though. Anyway, she got dressed this morning and did her hair just right. I think the child has just started becoming a beautiful young lady. If you look close at her right hand you can see she has a splint on her finger. Sarah was asked (yesterday)to feed Demo and let him out. She did although she slammed her finger in the door as she was closing it. She screamed and came upstairs crying. I took her to the Dr and got it checked out. Her finger is badly bruised said the Dr. She is not allowed to do gym or sports until Tuesday. She did go to cheer practice because she didn't want the coaches to think she didn't want to cheer. She stayed away from the group but did the cheers with them. The Dr said he didn't want anyone hitting her finger by accident. Sarah said everyone kept away from her. She is making new friends ...

Yup, it was that very first day of school. I could hear all the mom's cheering as the teachers walked the kids inside to start the new year. Okay maybe only in my mind were we all cheering. I have to say this summer really went by fast. So many people asked me if I was ready for the kids to go back to school. I smiled a great big smile and said YUP. I am ready for school to begin. Ryan is now going to school year round, B is a senior this year, Sarah is in 7th grade and thinks this will be the best year! Noah is now in 4th grade. Hold it, yup he is in 4th grade. I don't really know how that one happened. I swear he was just in 1st grade yesterday. Nope 4th grade. I have to say that I have a hard time with that one. Oh well, reailty check. Sarah was very excited this morning as I woke her up by calling her cell phone. She jumped out of bed and couldn't wait to get going. I on the other hand wasn't quite ready to get up but I did. Next came Noah. He was easy to wake up be...

Here is Sarah and Mermah. A few of my friends have said Sarah looks like my Mom. Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don't. This picture was taken last Saturday when we went to drop off Great Grandma at her house. We sat in the porch and I snapped away. Sarah didn't like the first couple so I had to take more. This is the first one I did. I thought it was the nicest! Just thought I would show everyone how my mom and daughter looked. Enjoy the picture!

Ryan had his first day of "school" Monday. (August 11) He was very excited and couldn't wait to go. We talked about school for a week before he went. All he kept saying was that he wanted Daddy to pack his lunch. I tried to convince him that I should pack it but he kept saying he wanted Daddy to do it. Well I bribed him with pudding. Yup, I bribed him and I would do it again! He finally said he wanted me to pack his lunch. (Do you know how BIG that is? Ryan wants Daddy to do everything for him. forget about us) Anyway now he says I am the only one who can pack his lunch. He loves the pudding I put in his lunches. He also tells me what he wants to go in his lunch that I pack. Most days (it's only been 4) Ryan wants a PB&J, peaches, pudding and pretzels. Only one day he asked for grapes. So very happy I could make him happy. He came off the bus the first day tired. He actually took a nap when he got home. The second day he came home telling stories of what he did at...

Well, today was the day she wanted but then again not! Sarah is concerned about her smile. She wanted her teeth fixed for quite some time now. We finally got all the paper work and stuff done so that she could get them fixed. It didn't help that our dentist told us to wait for another 8 months. I just set up the appointment and did it anyway. The orthodontist was happy to see her and because we didn't wait Sarah only needs to wear the braces for 18 months. The average is 27 months, so I would say she is good! Sarah did not want to smile and said that now her smile is ugly. I never had braces so I really don't know what to tell her. I just say that she is very pretty and that the braces will correct her teeth so that she will be able to eat correctly in a few months. Noah goes in 4 weeks to get his appliance put in his mouth. He doesn't need braces right now just an adjuster to make his mouth bigger. Hopefully that is all he will need and we will be done with his mouth! ...

I forgot to write about Nana. I am sorry! I went to pick Sarah up from her trip to GA and to drop Ryan off I went to Dad's house to visit for a little while. I didn't realize Nana was there. I would have come earlier! ALthough I didn't get to talk to Nana too much because I went in to help Sandy with dinner and we go to talking. I have to say Sandy and I don't talk too often. This was on of the only times we really talked. Not about the weather or little things but we talked. gIt was nice. I did miss talking to Nana though and will be calling her soon. Maybe we could get together and talk for a little while. That would be nice. I miss that! This picture really isn't the best one the sun was in our eyes. I did have a nice chit chat while we were sitting in thepool though. Nana looks great! I am sure she had a great visit with my Dad. Stay posted for more visits with Nana.

I took Grandma down to "her little Windber". That's where her mom grew up and she used to visit when she was a girl growing up. Well we found out that it isn't "little Windber" anymore! On Saturday morning I told Grandma that we were going to drive to see Windber. At first Grandma wasn't sure she really wanted to go. It was a long drive and we could do something with the family. I told her that nope we were going. She told me of her cousin but wasn't sure if he even lived there anymore. I went to the computer and found him in a minute. I came back into the room and showed her the information and she said she thought it was him. So I called and spoke with Jr. He said he would be around all day and that we could come so off we went. It took us about 4 hours to get there. All along talking about Grandma's memories of Windber and Jr. I was very thankful for the GPS system we had. We didn't get lost until we got to his street. After we found his h...

Well, I just took Grandma back to her house. As I am sitting here I am thinking about everything we did. We spent days talking, remembering when..., picking peaches, baking goodies, visiting with family, making a bunch of new memories. I think this week was a great week. I am glad Grandma agreed to come down to spend sometime here at the "never stops house!" It seemed that since she got here we were constantly doing something. We did take 2 days to really just sit and talk but other than that we were on the go. This picture was of the day we baked. With all of those peaches we had to do something with them. So we made the peach buckle. We also made cookies for Teddy. It was nice to see that my kids wanted to help out too. They even put on thier aprons and chef hats for Grandma to see. They looked cute but I forgot to make it a kodak moment! I have to say I am going to go to bed a little disappointed tonight! Grandma won't be here in the morning to sit and talk to ove...

I just got this picture from my husband. He took it at dinner on Saturday night. We went to Outback Steak house. Grandma said she never had a Bloomin Onion so we got one. She enjoyed it very much. I like the picture. It has become one of my favorites! I was told by a neighbor we look alike. So what do you think? Do we? I went and picked Grandma up from her house and brought her down to mine for the week. I have to say this week has been a GREAT one. We have talked, and talked, and talked some more. Grandma has shared alot about her childhood, married live, adulthood. I am very blessed to have such a great woman in my life. We haven't really stopped since she got here. I was going to take her to crayola factory today but we got sidetracked and just talked and played yahtzee. She came out and talked to me as I cleaned the pool up. We ate lunch and played yahtzee with a friend. We finally went to the store this evening to get supplies for baking. So tomorrow is my baking day with Gran...

Look at us we are Bee Girls! As most of you know I am an Independant Home consultant for the Longaberger Company. I just got back from my Big BEE convention in Columbus, Ohio. I go there when I can and get training and learn from others that have really done good things in the company. Everytime I go I have a Blast. This year was a great year. I didn't know anyone I ws rooming with. (I knew them but we had just met) I picked the classes I wanted to go to and went to them. Sometimes with them and sometimes without. I learned alot and hope to be better at this job I LOVE!!!! I saw old friends that I see every year. Like Mike, he works in the home office (which by the way is shaped like a basket). I saw Greg who purchases the logs we use to make the baskets. He saw me and smiled and said to me "You, don't go anywhere!" I have to say it is nice to be remembered from people you only see once a year. I also saw Steve, he is a weaver for Longaberger. One year I was talking t...

Just thought I would mention that the boxes we sent to Teddy got there in 4 days. Mike mailed 2 boxes on Wednesday and one on Thursday. He got them on Monday. He recieved them all on Monday which I found funny. We sent DVD's, candy, drink mixes (explain in a minute), sunscreen, towllettes, notes and dallas cowboys stuff. Let me tell you about the drink mixes. Teddy sent me an email asking for the mixes you can pour into bottled water. He didn't care what kind but please NO PEACH ice tea. He said he is so tired of peach ice tea. I had already gotten some of them to be sent and made sure we didn't get any peach. (we didn't. I wouldn't want to drink peach tea either). He sent me an email that said he recieved 3 boxes he was running late thanks. I was glad to send them to him. Now that I know it will only take a few days to get Grandma and myself are going to make his favorite cookies, Grandma's pinwheels, and sent them off to him. Last time I sent him cookies he wa...

Wow Peaches and more peaches! Yesterday we went peach picking at a little place about 40 minutes away. They let me drive right up to the orchard trees. Ryan even picked a few peaches. He was very excited! As you can see in the picture Grandma is standing by a few baskets of peaches. We actually picked a little over 53 pounds. Yup, I am crazy! I talked Grandma into baking a few things today with the peaches. Like peach cobbler and a peach crumb cake thing she has the recipe for. We might even can peaches not really sure though. Sarah and her friend went picking with us. They both picked the most. Sarah picked over 13 pounds and her friend picked a little over 12 pounds. After we picked all of the peaches we went out to eat. Ryan was very excited as he asked where we were going. I told him he had to wait and see but he didn't like that idea. He kept naming the resturants we had passed on our way to the orchard. He finally said Cracker Barrel and I said maybe. You should have seen him...

Here he is My Big Brother. He sent me this picture from where ever he is right now. I was very happy to hear from him. He looks good. I will be mailing him a box of goodies on wednesday. If you have anything you want me to put in the box let me know. I am sending him atleast one a month. I do have to ask him about the gloves though. I have no idea why he wears them. Noah thought this picture was cool. He was happy to see Uncle Teddy. I am going to print it out for him to put on his wall by his bed. Anyway just wanted to post a picture. I will keep y'all updated on how he is doing. Love you Teddy!

Here they are the God Sisters. Yup thats what they call themselves. I think it's really cute. Mark and Tina are Sarah's Godparents and we are Tori's so God sister's were born. Sarah had a great time on her trip. She definetly had an adventure though. On the way down the car broke down in North Carolina. They had to get a hotel room. She finally got there and went to see a movie. One of Tina's dogs got into Sarah's thyroid medicine and ate them. It was funny. I guess the dog thought she needed them more. They also went to Nashville for Tori to sing at a writer's showcase. If I haven't told you before Tori is an AWESOME singer. I really like to hear her sing. She has her own songs on myspace music. I will have to get that link and put it here. (So come back later and it will be here) I was happy to see Sarah when I picked her up on Friday night. She told me that I am not allowed to text her when she goes away anymore. I texted her too much. I laughed an...

Can you believe we hav en't seen each other since 1995. We all haven't been together since then. I went down to Maryland this weekend to pick Sarah up from her trip to Georgia. I had seen Stephanie (the blond in front of me) the weekend before. We made arrangements for me to come down on Friday and stay with her. I knew Sylvia and Steve ( the ones next to me ) were going to be visiting family in MD the same week so thought it would be cool for us all to get together. I have to say I was excited to see them both. The last time I saw Sylvia was after Bekah was born. I talked to Stephanie and she knew where to find Lisa (the one next to Stephanie) and we invited her too. It was great to visit and catch up with each other. I felt like I was at a high school reunion! After dinner we went to Stephanie's house. (thanks Steph!) We laughed and joked until 2:30 in the morning. Lisa drove Sylvia home and didn't get home until 4 herself! It is neat to see that we all look the same...

I have to say today, we did nothing. Well, mostly nothing. It felt nice. All we did was swim in the pool and splash around. Ryan even walked around without an inner tube. He was trying to catch his Dad and he went under the water. He came up laughing and smiling ear to ear. He played water basketball with me and Sarah. He is getting pretty good at it. He was in the pool most of the afternoon. Noah and Sarah had a good time splashing with Mom and Dad. Sometimes the simple do nothing days are the best. Sarah leaves tom for camp. She is very excited. She is almost packed and ready. She always has a good time at camp. They installed a zip line and rock climbing wall. She will be going back at the end of the month too. Say a pray that she has a good time again this year. I guess I will write tom after we take her. I will try to get a few pictures too.

Okay so today is the 4th of July and I was looking for a cool picture of a flag to put on my blog. I really didn't see on I liked. But I found this picture of the sky I took when we went to Maryland to visit Aunt Betty a few years ago. I think the sky may have looked like this on that morning Francis Scott Key wrote the National Anthem. Today is a great day for this country. I am very proud of the service men and women that have served our country. Willingly giving up a part of their lives for us. Sometimes giving up their lives for freedom. So Thank you one and all. Sometimes saying thank you just doesn't seem enough. Sometimes it is more than enough. So if you see someone in uniform just say thanks. You might just be surprised by the reaction of the service man/woman. I remember riding by the Armory a few years ago and their was a group of protesters on front of the armory. They were screaming at the men in uniform. I was angry and I could tell Mike was as well. He wanted to ...

Well we just got back from our trip to El Paso Texas to visit Teddy and his family. Noah, Sarah, My Mom and Great Grandma went with me to see Natasha graduate from High School. She is going to the University of New Mexico in the fall. I am proud of her! We arrived on Tuesday and her graduation was Wednesday. Noah and Sarah had a great time on the plane. They both sat by the windows and got to look out and see those clouds. Noah told me that it looked like you could walk on the clouds. They were pretty. Sarah and Noah both feel asleep on the plane. We got up at 3am because the airport is 1 1/2 hours away. Our plane left at 6 am. Boy were w e all tired! After we finally arrived we w ent to eat at Ihop. I have to say it was pretty cold inside the restaurant. The air conditioning was going full blast. Now outside was only 108 degrees so I don't know why they turned up the ac so high. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Natasha has grown into a beautiful lady. She is taller than...

This is Noah and James. They know each other from Church. They have been hanging out alot lately. Noah will spend the night over James' house or vice versa. They don't argue alot either. James mom, Debbie, and I comment on that alot. I have never seen boys play so nice. Even if one doesn't want to do what the other does they work it out. This picture is in the tree in my front yard. Sarah started climbing it so Noah had too. James came over and climbed it too. For all of you who are saying "you better be careful. I see a lawsuit" I already talked to the mom and we are fine with them climbing the tree. I have to say I think this picture is a really good one. I love how the tree leaves are soooooo green. It almosts looks like they are in a forest. I hope that this friendship will last a long time. I think its neat to have a friend you grew up with. (Of course you always want what you don't have. ) Wouldn't be neat to have a friend who knows you really...

If you know me than you know how much I enjoy making cute little cupcakes. For years, 13 to be exact, I looked for a cupcake cook book. I could find cookbooks on how to make different flavors of cupcakes but not how to decorate them. My husband has known how fustrated I was and bought home this FABULOUS cupcake book. It turns out that his bosses wife wrote a cupcake cookbook. Just the kind I was looking for. The name of the book is Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Thanks so much for writting this book! I LOVE IT! Okay now let me tell you about the cupcakes in the picture. B and a friend saw the book on my coffee table and wanted to make the sunflower cupcakes. As you can see they turned out cute. They didn't put the leaves on them but I think they look really cute. Even the little ladybugs just look adorable. Now it seems that Sarah and C want to make some Lion cupcakes. They haven't tried to yet because I didn't go to the store for supplies. The wa...

Guess what we do for fun. I have to say this is what I love about going to Grandma's house. We all gather around the table and play cards. We play alot of skipbo but I really don't care what game it is! We all just sit around and talk, laugh, and have fun. You would be surprised how much talking we get done playing games. I always am! I love to go up there. I always come home feeling like I can take on the world. I guess you can say Grndma's house is my place to relax. Even when the kids are with me I know that I will be going home feeling loved, excited for whatever is next and just plain happy. Of course I don't win if my Mom plays. (very few times if ever) It seems she always wins. She sits in the perfect chair to win. Grandma was the big winner this day when we played. She just kept winning. So my advise is if you need to feel loved, or happy, or even to get energy back go see Grandma! Whoever she may be. Grandma's are funny people. Growing up we think they have...

I was looking out my back door and realized just how much my tree has grown. This tree is a baby from the one in my Grandparents home in NY. I got this tree shortly after I moved to PA. I have very fond memories of climbing the tree in Grandma's front yard. I remember getting yelled at to stay out of that tree too. After I got older and had a family of my own I was told of the story of the tree by Grandma. It isn't a great story with lots of excitement but just a story of my Grandparents love. This tree was the first thing they planted on thier property. They just went and picked this tree out and planted it. In my mind I can see them young and planting the tree at the right spot. Right outside the door smack in the middle of the front yard. The tree they have has 2 trunks. It almost looks like it was 2 trees. Every year when we would go up to Grandma's I would love to play around that tree. I loved the helicopters every spring. Getting them stuck together was great. We alw...

Well she did it! Sarah made the East Hills Cheering squad! I am very proud of her. I was told 50 girls tried out but only 18 made it. Although she has been cheering for 6 years,(enjoying every minute) I wasn't sure if she was going to make it. This was the first time she had to try out for a squad. I can tell you she was a nervous kid for the last few days. Practice started Monday went to Wednesday and Tryouts were today. Friday. Sarah has been practicing all week and even cheered outside for the neighbors whether they liked it or not! So the colors have changed to Maroon and White, but the cheerleader hasn't! Just wanted yall to know how VERY PROUD I AM! You Go Sarah!

Sarah's class got to go to an Iron Pigs baseball game during school hours. She asked Daddy to go. He said yes and then asked me to go. Sarah was happy and so I went. I have to say the stadium is very nice. This is a new AA team and they just started playing this year. Right now they are still working out the kinks and really haven't won any games yet. Hopefully they will. The day we went to the game it was a little chilly. I had to buy hot chocolate just to keep warm. The kids didn't seem to mind. They didn't seem to care if the Iron Pigs won either. I think they were happy to get out of school for the day. Sarah got a Pink mini bat. She wanted another hoodie but Mom wouldn't buy it and she didn't want to spend $55 of her own money. She got the bat instead. It's funny that they want you to spend your money but don't ask them to spend their own. Noah went to a Iron Pigs game a few days before with Mike and got a red mini bat. Both of them don...

Well here we are at Hershey Park and we got our pictures taken by the candy code we can ride. Last time we went to Hershey Noah was a Chocolate bar and Sarah was a Reese's peanut butter cup. They have grown a bunch! Noah got to bring a friend and Sarah hung out with me and rode some big roller coasters. She kept her eyes open for most of them and wanted to go back on a few. I did about 3 and was finished for the day. Noah stayed with dad and was happy to go on rides with James. I was tired when we started home. The kids all liked the day and enjoyed movies on the way home. I have to say I laughed a lot at Mike who got the great job of pushing Ryan's wheelchair everywhere. Hershey park is built on hills so I was glad to leave the pushing to Mike. He was all happy and laughing until the next day! I was really laughing then. Mike was sore. He said it hurt just to walk. I on the other hand was fine. The look on his face was priceless. Ryan had fun getting pushed up the hills and ev...