BFF pregnant & regestering!

Lola and I took a day off of work and school so we could head to Toledo and help Jen get registered for baby gear. Anyone who has registered at Babies R Us knows that this is NOT an easy task and for a first time Mom can be very stressful. Jenny did great! She had researched most items prior to registering day and had her list ready. However it still took us about 4 hours. Lola was a good girl and took a nap in her stroller for about an hour & half. She also got to ride in the goofy Elmo car which made her very happy. When finished registering we headed to Tiger Bakery. A trip up to Toledo is never complete without making this stop. We also got to squeeze in a quick visit with Jen's Mom.
Below are photos from our quick trip.
Lola playing the piano backwards at Jen's house, riding in the Elmo car at Babies R Us and appreciating the art work at Jen's parents house.

social calendar full

Lola had a jammed packed weekend last weekend as she attended two birthday parties for 3 kids! Bronx and Anora had their first birthday in Columbus on Saturday and Max celebrated his second birthday on Sunday. Lola had so much fun at both parties and would like to wish all of her good friends Happy Birthday!!!! (and thanks for the cake)


more photos of the birthday weekend


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Family Snack at Lola's school

One of the bonuses of having a husband that's currently unemployed is that he is free during the day to attend functions at Lola's school with us. Today was family snack day at 2pm. Aaron and Ian showed up and surprised Lola but it wasn't Lola who was excited to see them, it was Rowan! Lola instantly started whining but Rowan greeted them by doing happy stompy feet and a little shriek of laughter.

Unfortunately they didn't pick a delicious snack like cookies, cupcakes, or bacon, instead they had chicken nuggets in which all of the parents politely declined.

After snack the kids got crazy wild and Rowan pinned Lola against the wall. He thought this was hilarious. She didn't.

The snack... not to great. The entertainment... FAB!

Isabel visits!

Lola's friend Isabel came over for a visit last week. The girls played in the kitchen, ate soy nuggets & sweet potato fries AND pretended like they were puppies.
Since Isabel is 2 months older than Lola she is a little more advanced and taught Lola the talent of interpretative dance. Isabel is quite talented and will do interpretative dance to any song. Lola learned a new move, kind of a one footed down dog pose. Very nice.

Museum Day with Vince

Last weekend Lola and Vince headed down to the Cincinnati Children's Museum where they had a fun filled time! They both agreed that the sand box, ball room and water table were the best places to be. The area that educated the kids about children from other countries wasn't fun at all. They blew through that area and headed back to the ball room. After hanging out at the museum we went back to Vince's house so he could push Lola around the yard in his Jeep.
Lola would like to thank Vince for taking her to the museum and I would like to thank Vince's Daddy for carrying Lola all over the place for me!

Photos here!

Ian's Science Fair!

We attended Ian's Science Fair at his school this week. He did an excellent job with his project. He researched which metal would rust the fastest, a steel washer, aluminum or a brass washer. He noticed changes in the brass washer and concluded that would rust the fastest but apparently 27 days in distilled water didn't have much effect on any of the metals.
Good Job Ian, you're awesome and we are so proud of you!!!!!!!!!



Both of Ian's sisters were there to support him!

Butterfly Dance Princess VERY entertaining!

Who needs Direct TV? We've got live entertainment right here!

He shoots, he scores!

Thank you to Ooma for getting Ian his awesome basketball hoop for his birthday! He loves it, he and Lola both!

Neti Pot = all expense paid vacation for my sinuses!

I've recently been introduced to the fabulous world of the Neti Pot. EVERYONE should have one! What seems to be a bizarre concept has turned out to be one of my most favorite times of the day. In one nostril out the other. From what I understand through internet research this should help reduce my sinus infections.

This technique has been around for thousands of years and I'm JUST NOW finding out about it. In the Neti Pot is a mixture of warm water and saline. My first few times I only used half of a packet of saline but today I graduated to a whole entire packet and it felt great! Immediate satisfaction and so soothing! This is ideal for everyone not just those of us who suffer regular sinus infections. My fingers are crossed that this is the miracle cure I've been looking for. Not to mention I look like a smokin hot hottie when I use neti. Aaron prefers watching me do this than watching The Girls Next Door. Oh wait, he hates that show.
Lola watches and she says "netipa".

Shout out to my Father for his suggestion.

pit bull totally impressed with manicure

Lola shows off her manicure to Bruce. Clearly impressed he gave her kisses!
Not only is Bruce impressed but Lola also thinks she's pretty cool.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sunday Funday

We had a very nice afternoon today when Rowan and family &
Sam and family came over for a visit. It was a beautiful day so we were able to spend a lot of time outside. Sam showed off how well he can sit up, chew on toys and roll over. Lydia showed us how well she can sleep and burp, while Lola & Rowan continued to be toddlers and did whatever they wanted. Even with the other babies in the house they still run the show.
We headed inside so that Jeff & Joe could make an attempt to beat my bowling score on the Wii. This didn't happen today and won't happen ever. I am finally able to play a video game AND be the champ!

Photos here!

bad economy hits home

Well unfortunately what we hoped wouldn't happen happened last Friday, Aaron got laid off from work. His boss unsure of how long, hoping for only a month but with this economy who knows. We've spent the weekend figuring out our finances and where we go from here. Still undecided on how to handle everything we're taking it day by day. Step one was to lower unnecessary bills such as my cell phone. While I need a cell phone for emergencies and free nights & weekends I don't need it to get on the internet to check my Facebook account while I'm at work. I don't need it to send over 250 text messages a month and I don't need to be yacking away every time I get into the car. So by going down to the most basic family share plan we are saving 60 bucks a month. BUT that means I won't be talking, sending messages, photos & videos anymore. I will however be talking to other Verizon customers as often as I like since we have mobile to mobile which is very important as I need to speak to Julie & Jenny daily. Nights & weekends are still free, yippppeee.
Message to my parents: GET ON VERIZON or call me at home!
We've also found other bills to cut and so far creditors have been very understanding and are willing to cut down on rates to accommodate our current situation hoping that it is just temporary. Apparently we aren't the only people going through this right now...

We will take it day by day and in the long run we are sure everything will work out for the best. Despite this little set back we have a lot to be thankful for. We are a healthy family and we have each other!

We choo-choo choose Illinois!

Here's Lola at 2Toots waiting for her lunch to be delivered by a train! How cool is this?! The menu: not so cool. Actually I had a tuna fish sandwich which was about the healthiest thing on the menu. Lola had dino nuggets and Ian had a cheeseburger. This place equals a frickin awesome time if you're a toddler!

We had a nice quick trip to IL last weekend. Thanks Dad & Joni for everything but mostly thanks Joni for getting up with Lola so we could SLEEP IN!
aaaahhhh.. sleeping in, a luxury greatly missed.
Check out more photos from our weekend.

Happy Birthday Ian!

Today is Ian's 9th Birthday! Crazy to think he is half way to 18 already!

Have a GREAT DAY Ian, we love you!