a little on-line fun

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Our week looks like this:

Sunday we celebrated Ryan's birthday. We went out for dinner and Ryan ate 32 oz. (that's 2 lbs) of ribs all in one sitting!!!
Shared a Chocolate Zuccotto cake from Maggianos.




Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday--
Enjoyed 3 BEAUTIFUL fall days. Highs in the lower 70's--which for November is near record-breaking! On Tuesday we voted. (Olivia wanted to know if Barack Obama was going to be there!!)
Olivia also got to play outside in a giant leaf pile with her best buddy from preschool.


I can't believe that I still have flowers blooming--so cool!


Thursday--
Being lazy. It's suppose to rain today. So a good excuse to stay inside, watch cartoons and eat a ton of candy. Yes--this is Olivia's breakfast. She did, thankfully, eat her Cheerios before consuming the mass quantities of sugar. (I counted at least 7 candy wrappers)

So what did you have for breakfast?????

My morning so far...

and of course a few pics. Pictures aren't from this morning...but their cute & I'd like to share!

THIS BOY:



--woke up with a sore neck this morning
He actually sat on my lap this morning and let me rub his neck for a little while. Not sure how much longer he'll want to sit on my lap. Need to soak in these moments while they last.
--is getting so big (so quickly!) Last night he asked how tall he'll be when he's 8. He's planning ahead for a trip to Disney. I'm sure he's concerned if he'll get to go on all the rides!
--pretty self-sufficient in getting himself ready for school



THIS GIRL:



--wanted to dress herself this morning. She would have been fine, if we'd had an extra 5 minutes to spare. Threw a little fit when I tried to help her. Needed to rush out the door to get to school on time.
--had organic honey puffs for breakfast. She picked them out at the store by herself. I guess I can't complain about paying a dollar more for cereal (compared to Fruit Loops!!!) for something WAY healthier!
--actually wore pants today!!!
This may not seem that noteworthy, but even her preschool teacher mentioned "pants today" as we walked in the door. She is definitely a dress-wearing kind of girl.

Steal of the Day!

Look what I found (ahem, stole) today.





So I was dropping off massive amounts of rummage sale items at our church today, when I happened to peek inside one of the other bags at the drop off area. To my surprise, I found a bunch of "vintage" embroidered items. In total there were 2 small tablecloths (end table size), 2 pillowcases, and a couple of small table runners that have crocheting(?) around the outside.
However, the problem being that the church rummage sale isn't for another 2 weeks, and the likelihood of actually obtaining said items once they reach the sale is probably nil.........
I "traded" them for my mounds of unwanted items. Now, if you do go to my church, please know that I will make my donation to pay for these items. Really, I can't have "stealing from Church" on my list of bad things I've done in my life! So God, please be reassured that this was done only with the best intentions in mind.


But really---could you have passed up this little cutie?

What she says...

So last night, we went to Kohl's for our first post-new-job shopping adventure.

Ryan and Olivia were testing out the massage chairs that they had, and Olivia was saying "ooowwww. ooooww."
Followed by... "this is the woestest chay-ah evah." (worstest chair ever)
Ryan said he laughed out loud it was so funny.
I was with Aidan at the time, but I so wish I could have seen this first hand!
She's definitely not a fan!

p.s. the pic, of course, is not at Kohls.
(actually at home making banana muffins)
p.p.s. I think Olivia is developing a Boston accent.

The Chipmunk Gazette

OBITUARY
October 5th, 2008

Chester C. Chipmunk of ******, Wisconsin died at least a week ago from unknown causes at his home in this pile of unused clothing. The coroner's investigation was inconclusive.

Chester was an active member of the rodent community, digging holes in the lawn, eating seeds, and making droppings in this pile of clothes. He is survived by a wife, Charlotte C. Chipmunk, and dozens of offspring which continue the fine tradition of digging holes in the lawn, eating seeds, and making droppings.

The humans living at the Chipmunk residence discovered the body of Chester while investigating an unusual smell coming from this box. Erin has not yet decided whether or not to keep the box and its contents, but her husband asks that she make a decision today.


The above was written by my dear husband, who has a great sense of humor, even when dealing with dead animals in our garage. You will be happy to know that I have decided to throw away the entire box of smelly clothes.

Rest in peace Chester.

week in the life:day 7

week in the life:day 7
Originally uploaded by emmayrand

Started our Sunday morning at 8:00 on the dot.
After Papa got out of bed and left the camper, we all crawled into bed with Nana. Got up and started packing and cleaning up the camper, as it was suppose to start raining in just a couple hours. Easier to pick up while everything is still dry.
Olivia and Braxton helped mix up the pancakes while Papa made the bacon. Had our breakfast and said good-bye to Ryan & Jo. Aidan really wanted to go to the park, so we made a quick trip before it started to rain. Luckily Olivia didn't get hurt this time. Came back to the campsite and helped finish up the dishes. Started raining around 11am. Took a little tour of Roger & Leslie's camper, and then decided to head out. Drove to Madison and got semi lost trying to find the Archiver's in Middleton. Even with GPS, I still have a hard time finding it because the strip mall isn't listed on the GPS. Aaarrgh!
The kids saw the Halloween next door and we headed over there first. Decided they deserve a little break from being in the car. Looked around at the costumes and Halloween decorations. Luckily, I managed to have the kids steer clear of the aisle full of severed heads! (no, really.)
Went over to Archiver's where our first stop was the bathrooms and bubblers. One of the bubblers wasn't working very well and shot up and hit Aidan in the head. I had to laugh a bit about that one. His hair was actually fairly wet afterwards.
Tried to do a bit of shopping but was interrupted by another 2 or 3 trips with Olivia to the bathroom. Seriously, just get the job done! I was trying to figure out what kind of album I wanted to use for my Week in the Life scrapbook, but didn't find exactly what I was looking for...then I lost my 30% coupon....which in the end saved me a bunch of money. Left the store only spending $2.10. That has to be a record.
I had promised the kids McDonald's if they were good at Archivers. So lucky for them, it was right around the corner and we stopped for lunch. Olivia had her usual 4-piece nugget, but with Apple Dippers this time. Aidan gets the "Big Kids Meal" with 6 piece nugget. They both were happy with their toys. Again, more trips to the bathroom with Olivia as my Big 'n Tasty got colder & colder (and less tasty!)
Headed home around 2:30. Listened to the last of our book on CD, and flipped over to the radio to find out that both the Packers and the Brewers had lost. Oh, well.
Got home to find Ryan in bed reading, although he had spent much of the afternoon cleaning out the garage and finding the dead animal that was making such a stink. We debated on going out with Ryan for dinner, but we had already been gone all weekend, and I wanted to just stay home and make sure the kids got to bed at a decent time.
Made a frozen pizza for dinner (how exciting)and watched both AFV and Extreme Makeover, Home Edition with the kids...two of their favorites. Aidan took a shower mid-show and I followed. Got our jammies on and finished watching. Ryan came home and then it was time for bed. Both kids were in bed shortly after 8pm. We headed upstairs soon after and finished the day off folding a basket of laundry. Lights out at 9pm, which is somewhat of a miracle around here. A busy day tomorrow.