17 October 2007

Inquiring minds...

Answers to all your burning questions:

Yes, both our fish suffered untimely and traumatic deaths. One back in August, one in September. I have yet to replace them.

My tomato and basil plants grew like crazy and we enjoyed fresh tomatoes and basil all summer! I will plant them again next year and might even branch out and add a few new items.

A friend talked me into creating a my space page (yes, I know the high schoolers use it), but it's great as you can set your profile to private so no one but people you choose can see it. I've been able to reconnect with some old high school friends and other people I had lost touch with. I posted a great slide show of the kids on there - you can check it out by joining, and searching for me and then sending me a friend request. It is good, even for old foagies like me....

News....

Since our last update we have been plugging along as normal. In September we went to South Padre Island for a week with my family, which was great! We really needed the vacation and the kids were excellent; we all had a great time. Maddie is enjoying kindergarten, although she informed me the other day that she did prefer it when she was able to play all day instead of having to pay attention and learn things. I told her she better get used to it - she has a lot of years of learning left! Both the kids are looking forward to Halloween. Maddie's going to be a cheerleader, and Caleb will be a spider. We hung up our Halloween ghost decorations over the weekend and went and got pumpkins at the pumpkin farm. Caleb is talking more and more and is completely day-time potty trained. We are on the home stretch of having no more diapers to deal with! Caleb has also decided to change his name - he prefers to be called Cobby. If you call him Caleb he will correct you. Mike and I are doing well.... Many of you have heard that I undertook an agressive weight-loss program this spring (no surgery involved), and people have been asking how that's going, so I have decided to give post the info! I recently wrapped up the intensive phase of it, and am now on a much more normal diet. I have lost 57 lbs to date. Although I have quite a few more to go, I already feel like a new person. I would like to lose 13 more by Christmas, which I think is pretty achievable. I will continue to set small goals until I reach the eventual far-off one! Mike has also lost some weight, so we are both pretty happy with our results. That's it for now, I will try to do better at updating more regularly. (I say that every time I post, don't I?)

29 August 2007






PICTURES!


We got these taken on Saturday, I wanted to share them!

24 August 2007

Long time no updates.....

Everything here is good! Since our last post, the kids have spent a week in Michigan with my parents, Maddie has been to kindergarten orientation, and Caleb is pretty much daytime potty trained!

Maddie starts kindergarten next Wednesday. She's very excited, but is upset with me that she will not be riding the bus. (Our district cut busing last year when a levy failed.) Her uniforms are too cute. I will try to get a picture uploaded this weekend.

Nothing much else is going on, just figured I would get a quick post in before I go home for the day!

27 July 2007

There should be a law....

Against working on Friday afternoons! Please Lord, let the weekend get here now. Only 33 minutes left in the day, yet it seems like an EEEETTTTEEEERRRNNNIIITTTYYY.....

Tonight, I am supposed to be meeting some of my extended family for dinner. At the Cheesecake Factory, no less. Yum yum. Unfortunately, on my healthy eating plan, I will not be partaking of the taste bud delights of the place. The plan is to eat something sensible. Healthy. Not cheesecake. :( However, am v. much looking forward to seeing some of my aunts and cousins, many of whom I have not seen in over 2 years. A good time should be had by all.

Now, all of you who know me well will be proud of me today. I was all set to buy a lovely new fall handbag this weekend - I've had it picked out for weeks now. But somehow, common sense has gotten the better of me and I've had a revelation that maybe this is not the most fiscally responsible thing I could be doing with that money. Especially since I have a number of nice bags already. So, no bag.

Beyond that, everything with us is good. I took some pictures of Maddie yesterday in her school uniform - I will try to post them here sometime this weekend. She looks too cute. Caleb is growing lke a weed and talking up a storm. We are all four looking forward to the weekend and some much needed time spent together and relaxing!

Wishes for a fab weekend to all of you! Relax, enjoy, read your new Harry Potter, and CALL me when you finish so we can discuss!

25 July 2007

Inquiring Minds Want to Know....

Wow - I had no idea it had been so long since I updated my bloggy thing. But no one complained about it, so maybe nobody reads it and I am wasting my time? Regardless, I enjoy it, so here we are - back again!

First of all answering the burning question of the day - YES, our fish are still alive!

Beyond that, we have been living life as normal. Work, kids, summer, bills, etc. It all adds up to make very busy days, and not much time for updating the computer.

Now, let's discuss Harry Potter. I bought the final book this past week and finished it on Sunday. Am dying to discuss with someone else who is as crazy as me, let me know if you have read it already! No worries, I won't post any spoilers for those of you who have not yet read your copy. And for the ones out there who don't read the series, go to Barnes and Noble right now and buy it! They are great books, destined to become classics.

Family news - Maddie is ready to start kindergarten in LESS THAN A MONTH. Caleb will have a hard time adjusting to day care without her I think - he's very attached to his sister. But it will be good for both of them to be apart during the day. Mike and I are just plugging along trying to enjoy every beautiful summer day with the kiddos. We are all very much looking forward to our upcoming trip to South Padre Island. September is not that far away!

That's it for now, updating from work on a break and must get back to the grind......

05 June 2007

Nothing and lots going on.....

Well as usual, we are boring. But I haven't updated this deal in a couple weeks, so surely I can think of some new things to share.

The kids had their birthday party a couple weeks ago. Thanks to everyone who came! The weather was great, and our good friends John and Kim brought their bouncy castle for all the kids to play in. Everyone (I think) had a great time. We didn't do anything too fancy, just let all the kids run around and have fun.

We got them each a goldfish for their birthday. Their names are Socrates and Nemo. Mike named Socrates for Caleb, since his talking / naming ability is limited. So far they are not dead, which is great news. I did not make a big investment (I think they cost .15 each), but don't want to have to console a traumatized child if (when) they do kick the bucket. So long live the cheap goldfish! They live in a bowl, but I'm having to clean it at least every other day as the water gets so stinky and cloudy so we may have to upgrade to a small tank.

Maddie had her cheerleading show on Sunday. It was very cute. The kids did a great job. Mike's dad got her flowers, and we took her out to a very fancy dinner (eating AT McDonald's) afterward, so she felt very special. We are switching her into a different program (a little smaller, more individual attention), so she starts back up with the cheer in a couple weeks. I asked her if she'd like to switch and do tumbling, gymnastics, or dance, and she informed me that she only wants to cheer! So we are sticking with the cheer. I like it, though. It incorporates a lot of great skills including tumbling, coordination, teamwork, etc. They already have them building little 5 year old pyramids!

We have been busy with work (as always) as well as with home. I've planted some tomato plants and basil, and am anxious to see if I can make them grow. Many of you know I tend to kill all live plants in my care, so this might be a bit of an ambitious undertaking but I am optimistic that this time will be a success! We planted them on Sunday. I'm not 100% sold on this gardening deal, not a big fan of getting all dirty. But I am excited for the delicious tomatoes and basil!

17 May 2007

Counting my blessings....

Caleb's birthday is today. He's two years old. And it seems like just yesterday that I was heading to the hospital to be induced. I can't believe my baby isn't a baby anymore. It's sad, and happy all at the same time. He is getting such a little personality, and talking more, which is great. But some days I miss the little baby boy who was so cuddly. He's still pretty cuddly though, so I cannot complain! We are so lucky, and so blessed to have such a great family.

May is a month of happy days and happy memories at our house. Caleb's birthday today, mine this weekend, and Maddie's next Saturday. Not to mention Mother's Day, we moved into our hose in May four years ago, and Maddie's birthday will also be the 11 year anniversary of the day I met my husband. I got the job in England in May back in 1999, found out we were moving back three years later in May.... How lucky we are to have so much to celebrate each spring!

09 May 2007

Rejected!

Tonight we went to a bone marrow donor registry drive for the daughter of my former co-worker, Hannah. Most of you know her story, if not see previous posts. Anyway, Mike and I were all set to get in the National registry. It's an easy process - just fill out a form, and let them swab your cheek. I had no problems with this, but apparently Mike can't be a donor because of previous back problems! Who knew? Loads of people have back pain, I think it's interesting that they can't be donors. Apparently it has something to do with possibly making it worse if he were to donate marrow.

On Saturday we are doing a fund-raising walk with Hannah's team for the Cancer Free Kids charity. They are having an event for the whole family - face painting, clowns, pony rides, etc. It should be a great time, and for a good cause as well!

Everything else with us is good, no more news! More soon!

07 May 2007

Long time no updates...

Clearly, I am a slacker of the highest degree if you go by the date of my last posting. My excuse should be that we have been so busy. But if that were the case, I would have lots of news to post on here, and you will soon see that we are boring as ever. It seems my natural procrastination tendencies have once again gotten the best of me for the past few weeks. But never fear! I am back now with all the exciting news of us!

Maddie has been busy with her cheerleading class. I had to take her yesterday for a "costume rehearsal" which is where I got her dressed up with the costume, hair, and makeup (yes, real makeup - including eyeliner on my 4 year old), and we went to the dance place for her class photo. The hair and makeup took me about an hour. I am including a photo of her. She looks about 18. Mike has been having a fit over the makeup, as Dads are prone to do. But she only has to wear it now for the dress rehearsal, and then for the actual show. Being that I'm not really into makeup myself, I was glad for the opportunity to practice putting it on her yesterday. The eyeliner was the hardest bit. I must say, I'm quite pleased with myself.

Caleb has been busy beating up his sister and yelling at everyone. He stamps his foot, points at you, and shouts "NO" when he doesn't like what you have to say. His favorite word is now "mine." Other new words include touchdown, football (can you sense a theme?), cold, car, and home. We're working on who-dey, but he has yet to say that one. And he still won't say Maddie, just calls her Sissy. His favorite thing to do is to play outside, so every time we get in or out of the car he has a fit, as he thinks we're going to stay and play in the driveway.

Mike's mom is doing well (for those of you who do not know, she had a stroke last week, and a surgery following that). Luckily, it seems that as strokes go, it was a relatively minor one. She's home now, and recovering many of her motor skills. The long-term outlook for her is very good. Prayers would still be appreciated!

Other news, I just had my 10 year anniversary at Enterprise - how crazy is that? I can't quite believe it's been that long.

That's it for now!

16 April 2007

Nothing to say....

Well it has been some time since I have updated our blog, and that's because nothing is going on! I'm sure everyone who reads this is tired of me saying that, but it's true. We are boring.

We had a great week last week with my mom, who came to stay with the kids while the daycare was closed. She went home on Saturday. We are hoping for some nicer weather this week, and already looking forward to the upcoming weekend (yes, I am aware it is only Monday).

We have Caleb scheduled for his surgery on Friday morning - his third set of ear tubes, and his aednoids out, which will hopefully help to resolve some of his ear issues. The whole deal should take less than 1/2 hour, but it's always a little traumatic when they have to put him to sleep. As problems go, this is minor, but I will be glad when we can stop doing this every 6-9 months, if he ever grows out of it.

That's it! Seriously, nothing is happening. More from us as news happens, which is rare these days....

09 April 2007

Thanks a lot!

Well since none of you came through with a good reason for me not to get my tooth fixed this morning, there I was at 7am, having a needle inserted into my gum. It really wasn't that bad, but now where they put the filling, it feels weird. The good news is that it is done!

Beyond that, life is plugging along as usual. Did anyone else find today tough? It seems like after a holiday it always takes a couple of days to get on track and back in the routine.... I am very happy it is almost time for me to go home for the day!

More from us later in the week!

08 April 2007

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!

We've had a great weekend, and a great Easter (so far). This weekend we spent with my family - Mom and Dad from Texas, and Joe too. Matt did not come down, he's in Muskegon for the holiday. Dad just left to head back to TX, and Mom is staying for the week to watch the kids. We have played lots of cards, been to Dayton for a visit with the great-grandparents, and just had a really nice relaxing weekend. The kids had a great time finding their baskets from the Easter Bunny this morning, and the bunny very kindly went easy on the candy. They got lots of books, a few new toys, and the cutest stuffed Peeps. We opted to leave Caleb at home with Mike while the rest of us went to church (a very smart idea). Maddie did okay in church, but she could have been better. I can't complain, for a 4-year old she was okay. She is used to being in Sunday school during church, so keeping quiet for an hour is challenging for her.

I've to go to the dentist tomorrow at SEVEN in the MORNING to get a cavity filled. I keep trying to think of excuses to get out of it, but nothing good has come to mind yet - any help?

03 April 2007

Foreshadowing....

It was only a matter of time... Caleb finally broke my eyeglasses (see previous post where he was repeatedly getting into trouble for playing with them). Our insurance won't pay for new ones yet, and I desperately need them. So it's out of pocket for me! Ah, the joys of nearly 2 year old boys.... I was ready for new frames anyway, but the lenses are where they get you!

30 March 2007

Long time no updates...

It's harder than I thought it would be to keep this deal updated!

Both the kids are recovering form various illnesses - Maddie has strep throat, and Caleb has had an ear infection, and a very fancy sounding virus (I can't spell or say the name) in the past week... The good news is that they are both on the mend! It's very unusual for so much illness to be happening at our house. We're always dealing with Caleb's ears, but that is usually about it (knock on wood).

Beyond all that, not much news. We have once again had an uneventful week. Lots of miscellaneous things going on, but nothing very noteworthy. Yesterday Mike cut down the remainder of the tree that fell on our house in February, and he's been doing some yardwork since the weather has been so nice. I have been getting ready for my Mom and Dad to come for Easter, and Mom will stay for all of next week while the kids' daycare is closed - thank you Mom! Maddie's very excited to wear her fancy Easter dress. She has been badgering me lately for a pet - we may get her a fish soon. That's about as pet friendly as our house will get.

Hopefully soon I will have something more exciting to write about!

24 March 2007

Good husband, good kids, good weather, good everything!

Hello to all my friends and family! We are having a fine weekend. The children let us sleep in a little bit (8 am), and were relatively good all day. We took them bowling (Maddie beat me) and met Mike's brother for the afternoon. After we came home, we were able to play outside - the weather was supposed to be rainy all day, but it was HOT and sunny! Shorts weather. Tomorrow we are attending a surprise birthday party for Mike's grandma, so Maddie and Caleb will get to see the whole family, which is great.

Good news! Maddie is "officially" accepted into Seton for kindergarten next fall. They had so many kids apply that they had to tell some no, and not all of them were able to get into the full-day program. I'm happy to report that she is in the full day class!

Other news - I am jealous of my brother Joe, because he is off to England today for his work. (For those of you who don't know, he has a fancy job at P&G). Anyway, we have not been back to England since we moved home almost 5 years ago, so I am envious that he gets to go there! We miss it. But maybe someday we'll move back, and we'll definitely go back to visit when the kids are a bit older.

Mike is happy because he is doing well in the basketball pool. I was out a long time ago.

And that pretty much wraps up our news of late. If you have not been checking care pages, please say some extra prayers for Hannah (see previous posts if you don't know what I'm talking about). As of Friday she was back in the ICU, and this is not good. No news since then, and I am hoping that the old adage of "no news is good news" holds true. Please pray for her.

21 March 2007

No focus....

It's a BEAUTIFUL day!

All the focus and efficiency I had this morning are now gone for the day. I made the mistake of going outside at lunchtime, and it is 70 degrees and sunny! Not good for a girl needing to go back to her windowless office for the afternoon. But I got smart, and requested Friday off, as I have a few days to use up before my work anniversary and my vacation re-sets. Now I am waiting for a conference call to start - it will no doubt be someone reading a power point presentation verbatim. Very engaging. But someone, somewhere, has decided that this is a good method of training new programs, so I get to listen.

I am happy today because I got a new lip gloss / chapstick that is very nice. I ran out of my old favorite one, so had to get a new one. And I am happy to report that I like it better - it's minty! (It does not take a lot to make my day.) Also, this morning I was able to wrap up a number of personal and work things that have been lingering and waiting for me to finish them. So, all in all, it's a good day. We should have some time to play outside tonight with the kids, and I know they will have been out all day at Rachel's enjoying the weather, and playing with all the other kids.

Life is good.

20 March 2007

Typical days...

As usual, not much is going on at our house, so I thought I'd entertain you all with an agenda of our day so far (this is actually a true timeline for today - none of this is exaggerated, but typical of most weekdays in our house):
05:45 First alarm goes off, I immediately silence it
06:00 Second alarm goes off
06:24 Finally drag myself out of bed, still very dark outside
06:25 Shower
06:30 Put Caleb in corner for not listening and continuing the play with my eyeglasses despite being told repeatedly to put them down
06:32 Get Caleb out of corner, go and get clothes for both kids
06:34 Come back into room to find Caleb now playing with Mike's eyeglasses, put back in corner
06:36 Get Caleb out of corner (again)
06:37 Get dressed (me)
06:41 Attempt to explain to Maddie that now is not the time for playing with her dolls; she insists that she must feed them breakfast before she can get dressed / brush her teeth
06:44 Try to dress Caleb, but we are out of diapers
06:45 Send Maddie downstairs to get last diaper in house out of diaper bag
06:46 Maddie comes back to say there are no diapers in diaper bag. Find one under bathroom sink.
06:47 Caleb is dressed
06:51 Maddie finally finishes dressing herself and brushing teeth (she has been awake since 6)
06:52 Brush both kids' hair
06:55 Head downstairs, give Caleb antibiotic
06:57 Realize have not brushed own hair. Bizarrely, brush is downstairs - no idea how it got there
06:58 Get kids shoes / coats on
07:00 Kids in car, buckled up
07:01 Realize forgot Caleb's cold medicine, run back inside to grab it
07:02 Realize forgot my lunch, run back inside to grab it. Forgot I ate it for dinner yesterday.
07:03 On the road. Try to find requested Veggie Tales Boogieman song
07:06 Have in-depth scientific discussion with Maddie about why the sun shines and what an "atom-smashing machine" is (courtesy of a "They Might Be Giants" song) .
07:13 Drop kids off at Rachel's
07:41 Arrive at work, make coffee
07:45 Work (very peaceful and quiet here) until 12:30
12:30 Lunchtime to run errands, but I forget about the diapers until I am back at work
13:30 Back from lunch, still working (it's 3:26 now). Take break to update blog.

So that's our day so far..... You get the picture! Mike fits in there too, but I updated you from my own perspective. Everything with us is good. Kids are happy, Mike and I are doing well. The weather here is getting better, it was sunny and semi-warm at lunch, very springlike!

More from us later!

16 March 2007

Out of the mouths....

Funny story - a few days ago we were driving in the car and out of the blue Maddie says to me: "Mommy, what's a masturbater?" I, of course, very nearly crashed the car with shock and alarm. After making her repeat herself a few times, I established that was indeed the word she was trying to say. So, naturally, I asked her where she had heard such a thing. She said it was from one of the Veggie Tales songs. Now, for those of you not in the know, Veggie Tales is Christan based kids movies and TV shows - not a likely candidate to teach my daughter such a word. So we listened to the song she was talking about, and it turns out they were saying "mashed potaters." (FYI, for you parents out there, it's in the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything song.) Nice. So I dodget a bullet there - lucky I figured it out before I had to come up some explanation for the word she thought she heard.

Other news at our house - nothing! Caleb has an ear infection. One of his tubes is working it's way out, so I'm guessing we'll be getting the third set before long. Big weekend plans for us are relaxing and doing some grocery shopping. We'll meet some friends for an early kid-friendly dinner tomorrow, and that'll be about it.

So happy it's Friday!

15 March 2007

Happy Birthday to Mike!

It's Mike's birthday today! We celebrated it last weekend, since weeknights are crazy for us. Good thing too, because today he is feeling sick with the stomach bug the kids have had in the past few days..... Our little petri dish Caleb is usually the source of most of the aliments in our house, but this one seems to have originated with Madeline.

So, with that said, you can guess that not much has been happening at our house this week. Kids not feeling good, work as usual, and that's pretty much it. Last night was girls' night at my friend Carrie's, and I'm happy because I figured out how to make baked low-fat Jalapeno poppers that are comparable to the full-fat ones! (It's the little things...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!

12 March 2007

Our government at work....

Dragging myself out of bed this morning was no easy feat... I blame Congress and their bright idea to move daylight savings up 3 weeks. I was doing so well in the mornings last week, as it was light out when I have to wake up. Today, it was pitch black. Even Maddie commented on it, asking me why we were leaving in the middle of the night.

We had a very uneventful weekend.... Saturday we went to a kindergarten assessment for Maddie. She got to play and meet the teachers, and their purpose was apparently to assess the incoming group of kids to structure their plans for the fall. The rest of the weekend was mainly errands and catching up on some lingering issues. Our weather was nice - it's finally getting warmer, and the kids played outside for awhile yesterday. Mike was able to get up on the roof and inspect the damage from the tree that fell on it during our ice storm a few weeks ago. The good news is that it only took off a couple of shingles, so he repaired it himself. Yesterday we celebrated Mike's birthday since we'll be busy this week on the actual day. Looking forward to my girls' night on Wednesday...

Oh, a quick FYI - we are in the process of eliminating our home phone. I'm having the number ported to my cell phone. So right now, the home phone # does not work. In a couple of days it will be back on, but will ring to my cell phone, at which time my cell number will be no more!

Now all of you who are wanting regular updates on our news see why I'm not always the best at emailing - we are boring! But no news is good news, and I like it that way.

08 March 2007

Boring is good...

Well here I am, as promised, updating any of you who are interested with our news. Sadly, I do not have much to say. We have been busy with plain old life this week. Some of the highlights of our week include Maddie's cheerleading class tonight where I got to listen to all the crazy mothers criticize their daughters cartwheels, etc (mind you, these are 4 year olds - whatever happened to just having fun?), watching The Office later (if it's not a repeat), and exciting plans to go to the fish fry at church tomorrow night. As you can see, we lead very exciting lives around here! The title of my post rings true - boring is good. This week at work has been very crazy. Unfortunately, I had to fire someone on Monday. This is the least fun part of my job. Anyway, the resulting mess that has had to be cleaned up has taken up most of my time this week. So the routine of my evenings is much welcomed! The good news about the situation at work is that it will give me a chance to re-structure my team a little bit! The bad news is that I have someone getting ready to go on maternity leave next month, so my work life will likely remain very hectic through August.... Beyond all that, we are looking forward to celebrating Mike's birthday next week (Maddie more than anyone - she measures the year in who's birthday comes next), and looking forward to a nice, calm, relaxing weekend. Signing off from Chez Haynes for now - Jeopardy calls!

Prayers Needed!

All, as I think you all know, some of our friends children have been very sick, both with cancer. Hannah needs your prayers today as she is undergoing a sinus surgery and additional testing. In addition, her parents are searching for a bone marrow donor for her upcoming bone marrow transplant. Corey is doing much better, but still needs prayers as well.

For updates on both of them you can go to: www.carepages.com
Hannah's page name is: hlrumping
Corey's page name is: coreynickell

Thanks for your prayers and wishes for these families - I have passed them along!

05 March 2007

Getting on the Technology Wave.....

I made a big decision today - to join the Internet revolution (a bit late, admittedly) and use some technology to keep all of you (good friends and family) updated on our family happenings, as well as whatever I might feel like putting on here. I'm new to the blogging world, but it seems to me that this will be a handy tool for letting everyone check out our news when it is convenient for you! Plus, I am a habitual slacker at regular emailing (as many of you already know), so I figure this will get me at least partially off the hook for not doing a good job of keeping you all updated with news of the kids, etc....

So! Our recent news - we just got back from a short trip to Texas last week where we visited my Mom and Dad. Maddie was very excited to ride on the airplane, and both kids were good on the entire trip. Caleb didn't do much screaming on the plane, so that was good. The weather was hot (in the 90's - very nice), and we were able to go to the beach and/or pool every day. Mike and I went to Mexico twice, once with my mom to shop and once with my dad to see his work. I've never been to that part of the country before, so really enjoyed seeing how different it is as well as seeing where Mom and Dad live. We had a great time - looking forward to heading back for a week at South Padre Island this fall.

Beyond that, not much is going on in the Haynes household lately. We registered Maddie for kindergarten recently, she'll be going to our church school. She's already very excited about it, as am I since they have a great full-day kindergarten program. Caleb is starting to talk more, and his personality is really developing. He's a funny little guy - more laid back than Maddie is, but still very stubborn and headstrong. We have our hands full with the two of them.

That's about it for today. I will plan to update this thing regularly with our news and views and whatever else I feel like sharing.