Dr. Seuss Fun

I had to babysit Bre and Lathan today for a few hours. For the first time, I had to drive them somewhere. I was so nervous! I had to take their mom's car because the car seats were in the back. Luckily, we were only going up the street, but it was still nerve-wracking. It also made me very nervous to have to go out by myself with a three-year old and a baby in a car seat. I never want to be a single mom!! The kids and I went to Frische's for lunch and then I took them to the bookstore up the street to celebrate Dr. Suess's birthday. The kids read a book, got to make a Suess hat out of strawberries & bananas, eat green eggs & ham, paint, and sing. Bre wasn't a fan of the green eggs & ham, but Lathan had no problem eating it!

Crazy Storms

We had a crazy thunder storm today. This was on my way home, after the storm had passed- it's hard to tell, but there was a bright blue patch of sky amidst the clouds. It was very scary because there were tornado warnings all through out the tri-state. I got a text message from school saying that all classes and events for the evening were cancelled because of the storm! I was at work not only looking out my window, but watching the weather online like a hawk. I'm glad I live close to work, or otherwise I would have been scared to go home- they were saying to stay where you were because the storms were really bad. I'm terrified of tornadoes! Luckily, the storm ended and our part of town didn't get any tornadoes... but close to our town, like the very east of Cincinnati and Kentucky and Indiana all got hit. There a lot of deaths and whole towns were completely destroyed. I feel very lucky because a few miles either way and it could have been us getting our town destroyed.

Lap Dog

Sometimes I think Joey thinks that he is a tiny dog. He sits on my lap all the time and just like the little dogs in the house, he always sits on the arm of the chair. Unlike the little dogs though, he doesn't quite fit that well... especially when he lays on it and his head and legs hang off the edge.

Outside Dog

Joey has been doing this thing lately where he goes outside, but won't come back inside. Whenever someone goes outside and calls for him or even gets near him, he just looks at them and runs away. He will stay out there literally for hours before he comes back in. What gets really annoying is when we have to go somewhere but he won't come back inside. Sometimes I can get him in by tricking him into the garage by honking the horn of the car, shutting the garage door while he's barking at the horn, and then trapping him in the corner and grabbing his collar and yanking him inside. He has caught on to all my other tricks... like using treats, trying to get him into the car for a ride (which he usually loves) and pretending like I want to pet him. He doesn't fall for anything anymore and it is getting next to impossible to get him in... except occasionally the garage thing and when Kevin calls for him. Sometimes we end up just leaving him outside when we leave. I hate doing that because I worry he's going to run away. I swear I need to just build him a dog house and he can live outside all the time!

First Realtor Meeting

Today was an exciting day for us. We had our first meeting with our realtor! Our journey of house hunting has officially began. For the meeting, we had lunch with Kathy at the Cock & Bull up the street. At the meeting, we talked about the first steps that we had to take... and we planned to meet next week to look inside some of the houses we had picked out. So exciting!! I can't wait to be on our own within the next few months.

New Hat

My mom had a coupon for a free $20 to spend on this sports fan website. Everything Reds I wanted was too expensive, so I got a hat for Kevin. It got delivered today and he was pretty excited.... it looks really cool. Reds season is upon us!! Wahoo!

Houses

Today we went out with Kevin's mom to look at houses. We spent most of the morning and much of the afternoon driving around and looking through different neighborhoods. It's actually pretty exhausting when all is said and done! This house has been one of my favorites the past few weeks, but today, we found some new ones that I liked. It's easy to say we like the outside, but you can really only tell once you start looking at the insides of houses. Hopefully, we'll be doing that soon!

Night Sky

On the way out to dinner, Kevin and I noticed the cool sky. There was a perfect crescent moon and we think two planets.. or maybe a star and a planet. It was pretty neat to look at but unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out near as cool as what it really looked like.

Eating Playdough

While in Toledo, I went to a baby art class with Jack and Nina. In the class, Jack did his handprints with paint, made a sensory plate, and got to play with playdough. He didn't really understand the concept of playdough though, because he was just interested in eating it!

Being Arteests

I drove all the way up to Toledo by myself so that Nina and I could go to a painting class. I had so much fun! We painted a lonely road. Not many people's turned out good, so the teacher gave us all a gift card to come back for a free class. I should say everyone's turned out good... everyone seemed to like mine. The teacher held it up for the class to see because she liked it and everyone else liked it and complimented it after class! I have only taken one painting class my entire life, so I was surprised people like it so much.

School Folders

I had to go to Wal-Mart to get a new memory card and of course, I got way more there than what I came for. In the dollar section, they had these really cool teacher themed/I love school file folders and magnetic memo pads. I had to get them!

Rainbow

On the way to class this morning, there was a beautiful rainbow stretching across campus. Of course, I stopped and took tons of pictures because it's very rare I see rainbows! This one was especially cool because it was a double rainbow and as I got closer to it, you could see the whole, full rainbow. So pretty!

Momma & Baby

For Kennedy's two month birthday, her and Kailyn came over to get some pictures taken. Unfortunately, my good camera was in Kevin's car, so I had to use my smaller one. The pictures won't be as good, but it's nice to have at least some to look back on!

Hillbilly Table

Kevin and I sat down and watched a movie on Sunday. He was supposed to sit in the chair next to me, but when he sat down, he realized that there was pee on the couch. So instead, he had to pull another chair over and sit on the couch next to me. Since he moved the chair, he moved the table away causing me to have to use my computer as a table for my grapes and Kevin's shoe as a cup holder for my water... can you say hillbilly?!?

Bachelorette Book

I have been wanting to scrapbook so bad lately.. but just haven't been motivated to do my own photos. Kylie absolutely loves when I make her things and I like scrapbooking for other people better, so I decided to make her a bachelorette party book. Making a new book gave me a chance to go Hobby Lobby and buy all new things, since I have no animal print stuff. It's fun buying new things! But it wasn't so fun when I realized I forgot to use my gift card to pay for it!

Bella

Kylie and Tim just moved into their house a few weeks ago, so they had all of us over for dinner. It is such a cute house and we had a good time eating pizza and playing games. I rarely get to see Bella, so it was good to see my hyper and crazy niece for once.

Fixing my Cricut

I got a new Cricut for Christmas, but it doesn't work. The blade for some reason doesn't end up where it starts and all my letters and shapes don't look right. I've been putting off calling the company because I haven't felt like sitting on hold forever, but tonight I finally decided to call. I didn't end up having to wait on the phone for very long. The girl told me to download this software and update my Cricut and that it should work now. It doesn't. So now I have to put off calling the company again to figure out what to do now. Annoying.

Fiesta with a Friend

My friend from school texted me and said that she missed me, so we planned on going to dinner together after our classes on Wednesday. Her class happened to get cancelled and mine got out early, so I ended up meeting her at her (adorable!) house before going to dinner. For dinner, we went to a Mexican place by her house. We both got margaritas, ate, and chit-chatted about life. It's nice to be able to go out with people I don't go out with that often!

A Catch!

Usually on Valentine's Day, Kevin and I will do maybe some cards and then go get Chinese take-out and bring it home. This year, though we couldn't actually do anything because I had class and he worked until midnight. I gave him a card in the morning, and then when I got home from work, this was waiting for me. I posted pictures of it on facebook and almost everyone said it was the cutest, most unique gift they have ever seen. I will have to agree!

Wade??

On the first day of Kevin's new job, he was given a bunch of old uniforms from old employees. He got a jacket and a couple of shirts, all with different names on them. He has to wear these uniforms until his own uniform comes in next week. Until then though, I can technically call him "Wade" or "Mike" or "Ron!"

Snuggle Bunny

The heat went out last night in the house. Of course, it happens to be the coldest weekend we've had so far this year. All day Sunday we were on standby for the heating people to come. Kevin's friends were all over, so everyone was snuggled up in blankets trying to keep warm... including Joey! Okay, he didn't do it by choice (Trent covered him up) and he probably wasn't even cold, but he looked so cute underneath the blanket!

Pretty Peacock

I went to the zoo with the kids I babysit today. While the older girl was in class, I took the baby and we walked around the zoo for a little bit while we were waiting. It was pretty chilly outside so there weren't too many animals out, but I did get to see some peacocks just "chilling" on the sidewalk. I've never realized how gorgeous peacocks were. I took tons of pictures because I was in awe!

May the Force Be With You

Tonight is the release of Star Wars in 3D. All of Kevin's friends came over to go see the movie. I had no interest in going at all, so I asked Jessica if she wanted to see a girly movie with me instead. Kevin was hoping that people would be dressed up as Jedis with light sabers for the premiere, like they were for the original release of Star Wars. Since Jessica and I went to the movies before they boys did, I took pictures of the robots and Jedis that were there. He was so excited! They were the movie theater workers dressed up promoting the movie, though... not the movie-goers dressed up. But it was still funny nonetheless seeing them and R2D2 hanging out in the lobby of the theater. What is the obsession with Star Wars?!?

Kylie's Birthday Present

Kylie's 23rd birthday was on Monday. I didn't get to see her on her birthday, so I had her come over today so I could give her her present. Kailyn and I went out during the day and got her a zebra print purse, some nail polish, a photo album, and a picture frame. I think she liked it- it was all stuff she loved!

Muddy Paws

Due to the weather being crazy and wet, the backyard where the dogs get hooked up has been a muddy mess. Muddy paw prints are all over the house and couches. What's funny is that Falco is a white dog and the mud made him have black paws. Bo is a black dog with white paws... so for the moment, the two pups were complete opposites!

Last Day of Hell

Thankfully, Kevin got a new job so he's able to quit Cracker Barrel! Cracker Barrel is definitely not a place to work if you want good tips. He luckily doesn't have to waste long nights of waiting on mean people and sweeping the floor like he's in high school. Now he's onto his next step of life: an actual full-time job!

Homeworking

Lately, it's rare that I actually do homework at home. I usually get to do it at work. This particular night, though, I didn't realize that I had some readings due. So, I had to do all the readings real quick so that I could get my discussion done for history. I must say that it is hard to read history really fast and actually comprehend it. Needless to say, I didn't do well on my quiz the next day.

Super Bowl Feast

We had KFC for dinner at the Hickeys on Super Bowl dinner. So delicious, but it was only the beginning! For halftime, we had a feast of yummy appetizers that included Skyline dip, wings, potato skins, meatballs, veggies with dip, and brownies. I'm not a huge fan of watching football, but I am a fan of the food!

Old Stompin' Grounds

My mom used to be a wrestlerette in high school for Mt. Healthy. When she found out that Kevin had a wrestling match at Mt. Healthy, she was so excited to go! The school has been rebuilt since she went there, but she got to see all of her buddies on the high school athletic hall of fame. Though Kevin's team didn't do too well, it was fun watching and cheering for them the whole time.

Hickeys Love Babies

We visited Kevin's parents with the baby tonight. They were absolutely in love. Sharon wouldn't give the baby up all night long! She held her and talked to her all night long. She even held her the entire time during dinner and ate with one hand. She really, really needs a grandchild of her own! Someday soon, perhaps.

Eating Healthy

I extremely hate vegetables. But lately, broccoli has been growing on me. I mean the broccoli has to have cheese on it, but it's still broccoli either way I see it! I'm trying to be good.. I really am!

Coach Kevin

I think that the perfect job for Kevin is coaching wrestling. The kids love him and he is so good at it! He loves it, too. He told me that he just loves his kids. When they lose a match, he said he feels so sad for them, like they're a part of him or something. Him saying that was so adorable-- it's exactly how I feel when I teach!

Who Cares!

While browsing the top news on Yahoo today, one of the news stories got me so annoyed. It was entitled, "Celebs Who Are Die-Hard Sports Fans." Really?!? Who the heck cares which celebs are fans of sports! They are people! People like sports! I can't stand when magazines and such share with fans simple activities that celebs do, like go shopping, drive cars and walk their pets- to name a few. Just because they are rich and famous, doesn't mean they can't be normal people! I can't believe people actually care to read this stuff.

Clean Kitchen

I came home from babysitting this morning to a perfectly clean kitchen. I love when that happens! Kevin is a pretty messy roommate for the most part, but when he goes on a cleaning kick, he does a really good job. The countertops and tables got cleared off in addition to the entire fridge and cabinets getting organized. It looks like we have no food now, but at least it looks nice... for now!

Waffle Buffet

Josh, Nina, Jackson, Kevin and I went to breakfast at the place called Granite City this morning. They had a really nice breakfast buffet with really really delicious bacon and hash browns. After I was already pretty much full, I found out they had a waffle bar complete with oreos! I have never had oreos on my waffle before, so I had to try it. Despite how full you are, there is always room for oreos!

Jackson's First Birthday

I cannot believe Jackson is one already! This past year went by so fast. At his Yo Gabba Gabba themed birthday party, he got his very own mini Brobee cake. After going straight for the rice krispie treat horns, he got redirected to the main part of the cake. He started out slow, but once he got the hang of it, he really got down and dirty! He probably had enough cake to last him until his second birthday!

Hide These

I cracked up because I saw group of business cards on the back of one of the shelves on my desk at work. I pulled them out and saw that they were my mom's, with a note that said "hide these" on it. I laughed, because she must have just put the note on those recently, since I don't remember seeing it a few weeks ago when I looked at the business cards. I asked her why she put that note on the cards. Her response: "I look wretched."

Bejeweled Queen

I'm almost positive Kevin's mom has ADD. She cannot sit still for more than two seconds! While at Kevin's wrestling match, she never knew what was going on. She was cheering for his team when they weren't even on the mats! She kept getting up to smoke, looking around, texting (a new found skill of hers), you name it. I finally told her that I had her favorite game, Bejeweled, on my phone, so I gave it to her to let her play. She was so excited. It kept her entertained for about, oh, two seconds!

Personal Chauffeur

The past couple of Wednesday nights at school, there have been basketball games. When there are basketball games, the student lot has to clear out. I haven't figured out where to park yet (hence my ticket last week), so I always ask Kevin if he will take me. He agreed to it thankfully, so I didn't have to worry about finding a spot to park and then once finding a spot, having to walk three miles to get to class. Plus, after class it started raining, so I pretty much dodged that bullet! What a husband!

May the Force Be With You

Kevin obsesses over video games when there is a new one out that he wants to play. This time is no different. I've been hearing all weekend about this Star Wars computer games he wants to play, but you can't play it on Macs. So, he had to wait until Trent sent him the Windows disc in the mail. When the disc arrived, it came with a note that said "May The Force Be With You.. ALWAYS," with some sort of weird drawing on it. Kevin was ecstatic about getting the disc so that he could set up his computer and start playing. Great! There will be no cleaning of his butt if he gets a boil this time!

No Bones About It

When all else fails, I can take a picture of Joey and I know it'll be a cute photo because he's always doing something cute. Today he was chewing on his big Christmas bone. I love watching him chew it because he hold it with his paws! Hearing him chew that big thing makes my teeth hurt, but I know that he is loving every minute of it! Plus chewing these bones makes his teeth white and his are even whiter than mine!

Lazy Boy

Joey loves snuggling on the couch with us and half the time he takes over the whole thing! During the movie we were watching, Joey decided to take up more and more of the recliner. Every few seconds he would stretch, move, then take up more of the couch inch by inch. After the movie we were watching was over, I laughed at Joey's positioning and had to take a picture of him. Notice his head hanging off the side of the recliner... and Kevin sitting uncomfortably, trying to accomodate Joey's taking over of his side of the couch!

Icy

Last night, we got a really heavy rain/ice storm! The news said it would be pretty bad and it sounded pretty bad just from listening to it from inside the house. The next morning, it was an icy wonderland! Everything was frozen, including my car! When we tried to go out and run some errands, it took us forever trying to clean the cars off. We started off with my car, but we couldn't get the doors open because they were frozen shut! We were literally putting all our weight on the door handles and sliding everywhere, but they wouldn't budge. So, we then moved on to Kevin's car. It took him what seemed like forever to get his car just cleared off. After waiting about an hour to leave, my mom and I just about gave up. Kevin said he "worked too hard to give up now," so we waited until he was done and then trekked through the ice to get to where we were going.

Kennedy at One Month

For Kennedy's one month birthday, I did a mini photo shoot of her. Though the photos I took weren't as good looking as the photos I saw online, I took enough that I am bound to get at least a few decent ones! I found that it is very hard to get a baby to pose the way you want them to.. so a far off look/eyes closed/yawning/crying, etc. photo will have to do. At least she's cute enough that I can forgive the bad poses ;)

Potato Soup

My mom printed out the recipe for this cheesy potato soup last week and I've been looking forward to it ever since! We finally made it today and it was pretty scrumptious!

XU Parking Ticket

I've been so nervous going to class on Wednesday nights because there have been basketball games on those nights. When there are basketball games, students (who have parking passes by the way) are not allowed parking in the student lot because it is reserved for basketball fans. I have no idea where we are supposed to park because I still don't really know my way around campus and I can't read the map where they suggested parking. Last week, Kevin took me to class so I didn't have to worry about parking. This week though, he couldn't take me and I had to drive myself. I didn't want to be late for class driving around, so I took a chance and parked in the very last row, hoping they wouldn't notice my car. I was wrong. I know it's my fault I got a ticket, but it's so annoying that I can't park in the student lot when I have a pass! Basketball shouldn't be more important than students.

Ugly Sky

On the way to school this morning, the news on the radio said that a huge thunderstorm was on it's way to the area. That is was starting in some areas already, and to be prepared. While driving to school and walking to class, the sky looked hideous but it was only sprinkling-not even worth using my umbrella. As soon as I got to class and sat down, though, the rain started. A downpour came down and all the kids walking into class after me were drenched. The whole time during class it poured. When I left class, it had started sprinkling again and I didn't need my umbrella. I just missed getting stuck walking in the rain! This was the sky after class and after the rain, so you know it's going to rain again. Sure enough, on my way home it started pouring. At work, it was just a downpour outside. The loading docks even flooded and everyone had to move their cars and we couldn't do any deliveries. It was crazy-- it's January and it feels like a rainy, spring day, rather than a cold, snowy one. Gotta love Cincinnati.

Philosophy Sucks!

I'm taking Philosophy of Education this semester- not by choice, I must say. The first week of class we had so much reading. It took me almost my entire shift at work and I was just soooo bored reading it! I could barely comprehend anything I was reading the whole time. Hopefully I can understand it more once I'm in class, or otherwise I'll be lost the entire semester. Ugh. What is really the point of philosophy?!? It's pointless. Especially how all the articles I read were about nature. What does that have to do with anything?!

Faithful Companion

Joey is always by my side, no matter what. He follows me wherever I go around the house, sits next to me on the couch, cuddles with me in bed, and always lies next to my feet underneath my craft table. It's hard to ever be in a bad mood knowing I have a friend like this!

Dave & Buster's

Kevin & I went out with Melissa & David. I absolutely love hanging out with Melissa, but we just never hang out that much for some reason. Our plan was to go to Dave & Buster's for dinner and games, but when we got there, it was way crowded. There was an hour and a half wait to eat! So instead, we went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's and then came back to play games at Dave & Buster's. We had a great time, other than the fact that a lot of the games were messed up and we lost money AND the fact that we barely had enough tickets to get anything but candy at the prize store! The most exciting thing though was that I won the grand prize (200 tickets) on Deal or No Deal!