Haircut time

This must be haircut time in our house because Greg cut his hair yesterday (although he usually cuts his hair once a week), I got mine cut tonight, and it's Evan's turn this weekend. I can't bring myself to cut Emme's hair yet. I trim her bangs myself from time to time, but I haven't taken her anywhere to have her hair cut. Although I think she'd look absolutely adorable with a little bob, but her long hair is so fun to do things with! Greg of course cuts his own hair and just takes the razor to it and pretty much shaves all of it off since he doesn't have much to cut! I on the other hand head down the road and around the corner to get mine cut. Tonight I went over to my friend Becky's for a haircut finally. I really wanted to get it cut last month, but September just slipped on by. Plus I thought I was going to grow my hair out a little, but then today I decided that wasn't happening. I don't have much patience to grow it for too long. So then just when I say I'm going to let it grow, I go and chop it off. That's what I did tonight. Not that I had really long hair before, it was right above my shoulders. Now it's a lot shorter though. I like it, and it feels a lot better. I was way overdue for a cut. Thanks Becky for the cut after your busy day! I think this weekend we're going to take Evan somewhere for a haircut. Usually I cut it with the razor, but I think it's time he goes somewhere and gets a good cut! Not that I do a horrible job, but I really only know one way to cut it so I think he should get it cut by someone who really knows what they're doing. Maybe I'll give Em a little bang trim this weekend too. That is, if I can get her to cooperate or get Greg to hold her down because she does not like the scissors!

Besides haircuts, this has been another busy week and it's not over yet! Tomorrow I'm having my first Uppercase Living Open House finally. I'm really looking forward to it and have lots of neat items I've put together to show. Plus there's lots of new UL items out for the holidays that I can't wait to talk about and show the holiday catalog at the party. Cool stuff! Friday I'll be busy making chili for a recycling event/chili potluck on Saturday for the Time Bank. I'm really hoping we get some good participation! All you neighbors... don't forget to put your cardboard and box board out on Saturday morning for us to collect and then join us for the potluck lunch! Sometime over the next few days too I should get some laundry baskets emptied. For some reason, they don't seem to be emptying themselves and are piling up again. Dang laundry! I also need to go out and find Em a hat and mittens. I thought I had a little time, but now that the weather has turned cold so quickly I'm thinking I should try to find some before they're all gone! I was going to post some pictures tonight of my UL items I've put together, but I'm tired. I'll try to post some pictures of them tomorrow after my show for those of you who have been asking. If I don't get a chance tomorrow, I will on Friday!

For now though, a nice cozy warm bed seems to be calling my name soon. Before I go though I'd like to wish my Dad a Happy Birthday! He's traveling for work, but hopefully he still had a good day! Happy birthday Dad/Papa from all of us! Also, a Happy Birthday to a really good neighbor by my dad's who has always been like another Grandma to my sister and I. Happy Birthday Betty! (Betty and her husband Bob have been like another set of Grandparents ever since my sister and I were little. Betty and my Dad share the same birthday and Bob and I have birthdays a day apart. Mine, the 17th of March and Bob's the 18th. Crazy huh?) Good night readers!

Molly's Spot

It's been awhile since I've talked about the dog so I thought now was a good time because she's been amusing us lately. I've never seen a dog that lays in so many different spots. Usually a dog finds a favorite spot in the house and lays there a majority of the time. Some dogs like a favorite chair, the couch, in a corner, on a dog bed, etc. Molly on the other hand, not so much. She will lay by the patio door, under the window in the kitchen, against the wall in the living room, next to the chair, in the middle of the living room floor, against the couch, you get the idea... anywhere. We've never let her get on the furniture so she never lays in a chair or on the couch. She's the kind of dog who will lay in one spot for a little bit and then gets up and goes to another random spot. I often wonder why she does this. She can be sound asleep and then boom, up and back down in another spot in a matter of seconds and back to sleep. Does she suddenly wake up and think, "this hardwood floor is a little hard here, I think I'll go to this part of the kitchen and... ahhh this part of the hardwood floor is much softer." I guess it's something I'll never know because dogs can't talk so she can't tell me what her thinking is about where she lays. She doesn't even lay by the window or the vent when the air conditioning is on in the summer to cool off.

She never has had a favorite spot, even at night in our bedroom she is all over the place and picks a different spot every night. She even has two beds in our room, and she doesn't lay on them except for every once in a blue moon. Just last week though we've discovered that Molly has a new favorite spot. Here's her new favorite spot.


Last Monday I had Greg turn the gas back on the fireplace so we could turn it on. I refused to turn the heat on because it wasn't even October yet! I thought we'd start with the fireplace before we got the furnace going. Every time we've turned it on, Molly parks it right in front of the fireplace and lays there pretty much all night. For a lot of the time she will just stare at her reflection (or maybe she likes to look at the flames). Then after awhile she'll turn her head like this.


She lays there panting like she's so hot, yet she won't get up and move. She ends up turning her head back and it's back to staring at the fire. I think this is going to be her spot all winter! It's funny because the minute we turn the fireplace off, she's up and off to another spot! And in case you're wondering, I still haven't turned the furnace on. It just seems to early. The fireplace has been heating up the place quite nicely so I'm going with it for now. I hear it's only supposed to be a high of 48 for the weekend though so I may have to break down and finally turn the furnace on.

LMLM Birthday Bash

A couple weeks ago Lansing Mom's Like Me (LMLM) announced their mom's night out birthday bash. There was a poll taken by the site manager so we moms could decide on the best time that would work for most of us to attend. The majority vote was between 2-5pm so it ended up that the "Mom's Night Out" was really a "Mom's Day Out." The event was held at the Lansing Center and many moms had been requesting a mom's night out where there was more time to just sit and relax to chat with other moms instead of busy doing something. So that's what the site manager Stephanie planned for all us moms. We weren't given many details, but that it was a "fancy affair" (however we didn't have to dress up) and there would be food, live entertainment, door prizes, and "celebrity style" gift bags to the first 100 people that rsvp'd.

So off us girls headed today to the Mom's "Night" Out. There were six of us from the neighborhood that went. Here's most of the group- Nicole, Jess, Carmen, and Dawn. (Becky isn't in the picture because she got there a little after us.) Nice shot ladies! You all look great!


There was great food and super delicious dessert! A local bakery cafe, Sweetie-licious, in DeWitt provided awesome cupcakes for dessert. This place has awesome desserts and has received awards for their pies. I've come to love their Snickerdoodle cookies, and now I've discovered a new favorite, their carrot cake cupcakes. I wish there was a way to send you a taste through this blog because they were absolutely delicious! Yum! Here's all the cupcake varieties they had.



There was also live entertainment, (a small band of three men) and a variety of door prizes. We were each given 5 tickets we could put in the bags for whichever door prizes we wanted to try to win. The two prizes that I wanted the most were a $50 Dream Dinners gift certificate and a MSU blanket. Here's the prize table and that blanket hanging is the one I was going for.


I put three of my tickets in the Dream Dinners bag and two tickets in the bag for the blanket. Unfortunately I didn't win anything. My friend Becky was the only one that won a door prize out of the six of us. She got one of the autumnal centerpieces and a couple other things.

Four out of the six of us had rsvp'd in time to be eligible for the "celebrity style" gift bags. For two weeks we've been talking about what would be in the gift bags. After all, they were "celebrity style" gift bags! Becky and Nicole didn't get one, but at least Becky got lucky to win a door prize. The rest of us got our bags on the way out and immediately checked them out. They weren't the "celebrity style" gift bags with things like Jimmy Choo's, iPods, Flip Video Cameras, Jewelry, or digital cameras which we knew. However, we kind of thought there were going to be some things like coupons for a free movie, a free coffee at Biggby, or possibly a small gift card for somewhere. Those weren't the items, but we did walk away with a reusable shopping tote, t-shirt, cd's, cake mix, and a free admission to the museum, a free popcorn at the movies, a BOGO coupon for Dream Dinners, and some small samples. Here's a few of the things we got.


While we didn't walk away with the prizes that we wanted, we did get an afternoon to visit with other moms, eat some yummy food, and have some free time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life as moms. It was a nice relaxing afternoon with friends and great conversation. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends. I cherish the friendships I've made with them and look forward to many more "mom's night outs" of fun "girl time."

A HUGE thank you to Stephanie for organizing another great event. She does a nice job planning these events for us Lansing moms! She's due with her second child any day now and it was great that she was able to make it after all the planning she did. We all thought (her included) that she would have the baby by now and wouldn't be able to make it. I was glad she did make it though because the event wouldn't have been the same without her there! Thanks Stephanie for the awesome afternoon for us moms!

Victory For MSU!

Finally readers, finally! After three miserable weeks of losses, we have a win! It couldn't have come at a better time either! There's nothing sweeter than the Spartans beating the Wolverines! Not to mention that we finally beat them two years in a row! It took 42 years for consecutive wins, but hey we'll take it and bask in the glory! It doesn't just mean a win for the Spartans, it also means bragging rights for a year! Life in Spartan Country feels good on this football Saturday! This morning the town looked pretty gray with the cold, rainy weather, but by mid afternoon this town was definitely GREEN and WHITE!

MSU pretty much outplayed UofM in all aspects of the game for 55 of the 60 minutes of the game. It was looking like a sure thing with less than five minutes to go and the score was MSU 20 and UofM 6. Just as I was thinking, "Finally, finally, we're getting the much needed win," I was also thinking, "Less than five minutes to go and this is when UofM's luck kicks in and they have this pattern of winning their games during this time." Then everything went downhill and low and behold, the Wolverines pull out another miracle (with a little help from the refs as usual, and with some help from the Spartans calling a time out with 21 seconds left). Hey Dantonio, remember the challenge Rodriguez did and wasted a time out? Yeah tough shit for them when they needed a time out at the end. Oh, but then you decide to use your last time out and just hand them the touchdown! Hello, they were scrambling, they probably wouldn't have gotten the touchdown, but then you call a timeout and give them some time to prepare! Here Wolverines, let us put that touchdown on a silver platter for you! Arggggh! Quit making these poor calls and quit running up the middle damn it!

It was definitely a nail biter. Thankfully though the overtime went in our favor and just as I'm saying, "don't run with the ball you should've passed," MSU freshman, Larry Caper is in the end zone! All I could think, was "Is this for real?" The tears were a streaming and this household was in their glory! I don't know how my Emmaline didn't wake from her nap because we were a cheering! Larry Caper is my hero today, and I can only imagine how he's feeling as a freshman to have the game winning touchdown against your biggest rivalry!

We've figured out that the flag has to go out on game day and Evan switched to his lucky shirt from last football season so he has to wear that from now on! Once again it's a great day to be a Spartan in East Lansing! We'll be enjoying this win all week and then some because there's still a lot of football to be played this season and we have some tough games ahead of us! This "W" is the one that really matters though! Unfortunately for you faithful readers that are Wolverines, I got nuttin' for you except... we made you Wolverines roadkill and we've got the win this year! Congrats to the Spartan football team and finally, finally, the defense showed up for the game today! Woo Hoo! GO GREEN! GO WHITE! GO SPARTANS!!!!

Thanks to my friend Jenn (Buchin) for the picture! Since I wasn't at the game I'm glad I can share her awesome picture with all those Wolverines, so they don't forget..... Victory for MSU!

Emmaline Makes Her Own Sandwich

Today before it was lunch time I had to hide the chicken nuggets in the freezer. I was one step ahead for a change. The reason being everyday when I ask Em if she's ready for lunch she runs to the freezer, grabs the chicken nuggets, sets them on the counter, and says, "Me, me do" while she points to the microwave. Meaning she wants to put them on the plate and in the microwave herself. So I let her help me sometimes when she gets to have chicken nuggets. Today though I decided that she's had chicken nuggets the past two days for lunch so she needed to have something else. So I hid the nuggets behind a bunch of stuff in the freezer. When it was lunch time she runs to the freezer, and I tell her the nuggies (as she calls them) are all gone. I said we're going to have a chicken sandwich for lunch. She says, "no." She's looking in the freezer saying, "nuggies" and I keep telling her they're all gone. We have a refrigerator/freezer that has the freezer on the bottom with the pull out drawer. So guess what she does? She starts moving things in the freezer, pulling out bags of veggies, and moving stuff around. That little stinker. Thank goodness I put them in the top little basket she never looks in. So after looking for a minute and getting a little mad she says to me, "All gone?" So I told her yes, and she's telling me, "No." (She must have remembered putting the bag back in the freezer yesterday.) So instead of having a crabby kid over chicken nuggets I said, "Does Emme want to make her own chicken sandwich?" Suddenly she was excited about a chicken sandwich for lunch and forgot about the nuggies. She had to get everything out of the fridge herself and the bread out of the drawer herself. Then I set her up on the counter so she could make her sandwich.

Here she is putting the cheese on the bread. I love how she had
to put tiny pieces instead of the whole slice on at once!

Here she is sneaking a bite of the cheese. She thought this was funny that she was eating the cheese instead of putting it on her sandwich.

Now time to add the chicken.

The final product was yummy! She ended up eating the whole thing, bread and all which she usually takes off and just eats the meat and cheese.

Guarding Sparty!

It's that time of year again readers. The big rivalry football weekend. MSU taking on UofM. Last year the Spartans came away with a win in Ann Arbor. Tomorrow is D-day here at Spartan Stadium. Do or die Spartans because if they lose tomorrow it's the end of the football season. Three losses already and only seven games after tomorrow which means not much time to get at least six wins in for a bowl game. And we don't want to just go to some crap bowl in Detroit! So as the Spartans have been preparing (hopefully) this week for the big game of the year, so have some others.

The others that I'm referring to are those that have been on Sparty watch all week preparing for any Wolverine who may try to come in contact and "hurt" Sparty. It's a long time tradition the week of the MSU-UofM game that Sparty be guarded all week long. It's been known that there are some nasty Wolverine fans out there. It's a 24/7 job, which people take shifts and they have everything from chairs and blankets, to tents and sleeping bags. As well as coolers of food, water, and whatever else is needed. So on our way to school yesterday, the kids and I drove by to check out the Sparty watch. The pictures aren't the greatest because of the sun and the fact that I was trying to take them from the car with a lot of traffic around so I was in a hurry. You get the idea though of what goes on. Usually there are more people in the evening on Sparty watch, but this was smack dab in the middle of the day during class time. Here's the famous Sparty Statue and the "watch gear."



For those of you familiar with "Johnny Spirit, " Greg said he even saw him there on Monday on Sparty watch. For those of you unfamiliar with "Johnny Spirit," this is the guy who has for years (At least for 16 years since I was in college. Holy crap has it been that long since I first started college? I'm old!) been painting himself green and white and goes around in just shorts and the paint on his body to sporting events. Even in the dead of winter you can catch him on his bike around campus shouting out "Sparty On!"

GO GREEN! GO WHITE! GO SPARTANS!

School Fall Social

Happy October 1st everyone! Can you believe it's October already? That just seems crazy! Geez it's already been two months since my little girl turned two! Where does the time go? Tonight's school fall social was a success and I got to meet some of Evan's classmates and their parents. I mentioned before that Greg had to work tonight. He had to be in Detroit for the opening of a new building affiliated with MSU- The MSU Detroit Center. Last year I wasn't able to make it to the fall social so Greg and the kids went. So I guess it was my turn to go solo with the kids to the social this year. Evan, Emmaline, and I headed off to the fall social at 5:30 and we got home about 7:00pm. It was held at one of the local parks, (Patriarche Park where we had the Time Bank Picnic) and there was a good turnout. We stayed a little longer than I expected, but the weather wasn't too bad so that was good. It was a little chilly, but at least the rain held off. However, it looks like it's coming this way for the weekend because I hear we're in store for rain over the next three days. Ugh! Here's some of the families and teachers gathered in the pavilion as the fall social got underway!


The CDL Parent Council puts on the fall social and they provide pizza and drinks. (It was nice not to have to cook dinner tonight!) They ask that each family brings a dish to pass. There's a lot of allergies among the students this year as far as nuts, eggs, soy, strawberries, etc. so they ask that there be at least nothing containing nuts. I hadn't really thought about what to take until last night. Nothing like waiting until the last minute right? Thank goodness I was at the grocery store when I remembered we had to take something. I had a hard time coming up with something. I didn't want to take anything that would have to stay warm since we were outside and it was chilly. So I ended up keeping it simple and bought some cantaloupes and cutting them up to take. I thought I'd go the healthier route for the kids to combat the not so healthy pizza. Turns out the melon was a good choice because it was almost all gone! The pizza was definitely a hit too with the kids. Here's Evan enjoying his pizza!


There was lots of good food and we ate and socialized with some of the other families and teachers. The kids got to go over to the playground for a little and then we headed home. Before we left there was a pumpkin raffle and my lucky little guy won! There were two huge pumpkins they were raffling off and all you had to do was guess the weight. Of course I helped Evan, but our guess together was 29.7 lbs and we weren't to far off from the actual weight of 34.6 lbs. Evan was really excited that he won and can't wait until he and daddy can carve it. There was also a raffle for a gift card to the (Spartan) Hall of Fame Cafe, as well as a couple free pizzas there. While we didn't get lucky enough to win the gift card, we did win one of the free pizzas. Not bad for an evening, huh? We got free dinner and came home with a pumpkin and a free pizza! Here's Ev and his pumpkin! Thanks CDL Parent Council! We had a great time!