Stolen

"This is the police department, we are at your home and it appears to be burglarized."
Not the phone call you want to get on vacation! We drove 10 hours to Tennessee, to spend one day and drive back the following day. The police had told us that our tv was taken, but they couldn't verify anything else until we came home and checked out our home. We spent a day and a half not knowing quite what we'd find when we got home.

The police had told us our house was secure, but we also had friends come by and further secure the broken door.

Thankfully when we got home we found that only our tv and a broken xbox were taken, and of course we'd need a new door.

I am overwhelmed by the response from our friends. So many of you offered words of comfort and encouragement. We had offers to check on our house and offers to check Craigslist for the stolen items. Every message and interaction we received means so much to me.

What we've pieced together: It seems it was just bad luck we were actually on vacation. The intruders broke in around 9am when they thought everyone, us and the neighbors, were at work. One neighbor, who owns a landscape service, came home to cool down and noticed a different car backed up to our house. When he came over to investigate, it scared off the two thieves who ended up only taking two items. Our bedroom was ransacked, but nothing was taken there.

Since then the police told us the same men also burglarized a house in the next neighborhood over the day before ours. The police and neighbors have been on the lookout for the "silver car with temporary plates."

And you know what I want to say to these thieves? I don't really care that you took our tv. I am laughing that the xbox you took was actually broken. I am annoyed that you ruined our vacation. But I am mad that you showed my kids what an ugly place the world can be. Even though they sleep in the same room, my 10 year old needed a parent to sleep with him the first night back because he was worried that you'd come back. Shame on you. I am sorry for whatever happened in your life that lead you to think that breaking into peoples house is okay for you to do. But like kindness ripples out into the world, so does evil and how dare you pass this on to my kids. Maybe you thought this was a victimless crime. That we would claim it on our insurance and end up with a bigger and better tv. But since our deductible is so high, this is all coming out of our own pockets to fix. But I want you to know something else too, the day after you broke into our house - the toothfairy visited, two nights in a row. So even you are not able to steal all the magic from the world.

PS, writting this post reminded me of The True Story of the Lost Wallet

Three Wineries in One Day

It's been a few weeks since I've been back from my epic eleven day vacation without kids. So, I guess now that I've done some reflecting, it's time to post! 

On Wednesday July 3 my sister and I visited 3 wineries in one day. As soon as she got off the plane from Anchorage, Alaska at the Akron/Canton airport we headed to Barrel Run Crossing Winery for some lunch - and of course wine! Barrel Run has been a favorite of ours for years. I love that they grow their own grapes and make their own wine. And the food is GREAT! They try to use as much local meats, cheeses and veggies as possible and the freshness shows! We had their Red, White & Blue sangria (in honor of the 4th of July) and the goat cheese spread pictured here, as well as turkey & guacamole bagel sandwiches, brushetta and a meat/cheese/cracker tray. All of it was delicious! One of the absolute best part of this winery is being able to sit outside and gaze at the vines. Although, the inside is quite delightful in the winter too, and has air conditioning! A special mention must be made of their yummy new wine, All Aboard, that they *twisted* our arms to try ;)

 After we had rested up a few hours, we went to Halliday's Winery. Again, the food here has always been great and they have some tasty fruit & cheese trays. We ended up mixing their red sangria with the white sangria for a taste we all liked. While the winery is located on a lake, what could have been a scenic outlook was overshadowed by rain. However, we managed to stay until they closed the winery, which is 8pm on weeknights.

For our next stop, we pulled up at storefront in Lake Milton and I thought "No way this is a winery!" But that changed as we walked through the door. The owners of Lil Paws Winery greeted us at their tasting bar and walked us through a tasting of their sweet fruit flavored wines, then some of our group also tasted the dry wines. They make their own wine on-site from juice. While they only sell pre-packaged food, they allow you to bring in your own food - so we ordered a pizza and sat down to play board/card games that were waiting for us! The hospitality of the owners was beyond compare and their sweet wines were lovely.

That ended our winery visits for the evening, but 2 days later we visited the two wineries Put In Bay, Ohio has to offer. To me good wine is just the start of a winery, good food comes next and a good view is close behind!

My body is awesome!

My body is awesome. No really, it is! It produced two healthy, intelligent human beings, it gets me through each and everyday, it can jog 4 or 5 miles in extreme heat (southern or western), and while I can't wake up and decide to climb a mountain with no training, I *can* do most moderate exercise and activities without giving it a second thought.

Do you know it took me until AFTER college to feel comfortable in my own skin. And I didn't make peace with my body until I was 34. That's right, 34! It wasn't until my husband moved out of town for work and I became a temporary single mother and something HAD to go that I decided I wasn't going to worry about the number on the scale because my awesome body was getting me through the physical and mental challenges I faced each day.

I *know* 3/4 of the women who read this are saying, "Easy for you to say with a slim body like that." And the other 1/4 of you are saying, "Well thank goodness, I am thinner than you!" THAT STOPS NOW. We cannot keep comparing ourselves to each other AND especially to what we see in magazines. I am never going to be on the cover of a magazine for my body, and I am fine with that. What I am going to do is put my energy into being the kind of wife, mom and friend you all want to know and be friends with. My life is more than a what shows up in the mirror and the number on the scale.

I want each of you to stop reading and think of 3 things you like about your body. Now think of 3 things you like about your mind. And 3 things you like about your personality.

I know several young women who think its okay to tell me their exact calorie count each day as well as their exact amount of exercise. THIS IS NOT OKAY. If you want to have a conversation about being healthy or strong, I'm there for you. But no longer will I listen to talk about altering what is in the mirror or on the scale. I will comment on any post or tweet or saying you make putting your body down, because you are not only putting yourself down, but all women. and we all deserve better.

Everyone reading this is smarter and stronger than they know. Do not let  anyone make you feel inferior based on your looks or your intellect. You are perfect right now. And I want you to keep striving to be the best possible version of yourself. But please don't base that on a magazine cover. Base it on the qualities you want to see in other friends and families. We owe this to each other and to those who come after us. No one should wait until they are 34  to be comforable in the body they were born in.

Everyday sweetness

Remember when you got done with work and the whole evening stretched out before you?

Yep, before kids. A lifetime ago. Or in my case, two lifetimes ago.

Now when I get done with work there is: picking the kids up, letting them "relax" while I clean the kitchen & do laundry, help with homework, make dinner, eat dinner (sometimes a huge feat with a picky eater), clean up after dinner, catch up on bill paying/cleaning the rest of the house/preparing for tomorrow, get the kids in the shower, get them dressed and teeth brushed, read bedtime stories, lights out, spend some time with my husband, our lights out.

Our current bedtime reading selection

Still, there are moments when time seems to stand still, suspended in cotton candy like sweetness: Reading bedtime stories is one of my favorite times of the day.
Saying prayers and I hear the best part of the day was "bike riding with mom," or "when mom took me to the park."
My 10 year old still asking for a kiss or hug at bedtime.
Hearing my children read aloud.
The made-up songs rising above the shower.
Whispered plans for an imagined kingdom.

Even at the most tiring, monotonous moments I think my heart will burst from the sweetness of it all. Then I am called to referee the most recent fight and snap out of it. Until then though, I will keep the sweet moments as a buttress to the negatives that threaten to pull me down and be reminded of how good life really is.

Being a tourist in your own hometown - May edition

For the last week and half we had family visitors - my parents and my sister Marie.
We went to some old favorites and tried a few new places!

Saturday May 11: 

My sister-in-law Alison and I started the day with a Color Me Rad race and everyone was there to cheer us on. After getting cleaned up we had lunch at Juan's Flying Burrito, one of our favorites. Greyson and I have taken to sharing the jerk nachos because they are so big!

Sunday May 12

This was Mother's Day. We had a nice luncheon at home and then all headed out to the City Park Botanical Gardens. The kids paid a lot more attention this time with other adults there to point out the plants, trees, flowers, vegetables, greenhouses, miniature railroad and even a few cute baby ducks! We ended the afternoon by eating dinner at DatDog, another favorite!

 

Monday May 13

My parents took me to lunch at Emeril's. This was the 2nd Emeril's restaurant I've been to in New Orleans and as always, their service is superb. I had the yummiest whiskey upside down cake with sweet potato ice cream for dessert!

 

Tuesday May 14

Lunch with my parent's was at Felipe's, another favorite when we are going to visit the Audubon Aquarium or Insectarium - and we did end up at the Insectarium! Later I picked up my sister Marie from the airport and after picking the kids up from school we went to Midway Pizza.

Wednesday May 15

The kids have a half day of school every Wednesday so we headed to the New Orleans Museum of Art, which is free on Wednesdays! The kiddies always love to eat in their cafe and then we checked out the art, including the current World's Fair exhibit.

Thursday May 16 

While my sister headed on a field trip with Greyson's class to the French Quarter, I had lunch with my parent's at Salvo's since my dad was so impressed with it the last time he came and Alex took him. My parents both had crawfish and oysters and I opted for a grilled shrimp salad. Then we were off to the Aquarium. I've been to the aquarium more than a few times - but this time I saw an owl in the Louisiana display that I've never seen before!

Friday May 17 

While my sister Marie was doing a little shopping my parents and I went to the Cafe Du Monde location in the mall so they could try beignets. I even told my dad he had to order his coffee as Cafe au lait since that is what they are famous for! We then went to The Bulldog which is famous for it's fountain made out of beer taps. Afterward my sister, dad and I went on a tour of Old New Orleans Rum distillery. I've been on the tour before, but it is always informative and you get to sample all of their rums!
For some nightlife, Marie and I went out to the Hotel Monteleone and got a seat at their famous carousel bar. Yep, it really spins while you are on it! Stanley & Alison ended up meeting up with us later.

Saturday May 18

Marie, Stanley, Alex and I got a personal tour at Covington Brewery. It was very informal, but informative! They usually give free samples, but had taken down their taps to set up for a festival later in the day. We made our way over to Abita brewery which includes free beer for the hour of their tour, but I stuck with the yummy rootbeer!
After picking up Alison & the kiddies we headed back to Covington to eat at the Mellow Mushroom and then we went to the Taps on the Trace festival that Covington Brewery sponsored.

Sunday May 19

After enjoying food and music at the Bayou Boogaloo festival we started getting hot fast, so we hopped on the streetcar and headed back to the Hotel Monteleone for some rooftop swimming. We followed that up with another visit to DatDog to wrap up the adventure with visitors!

Science Funnies

Here is a collection of the funny things my kids have said lately. It seems there are quite a few on on a science theme.

April 25
"This is getting exciting!" Grant, in the middle of reading If You Give A Pig A Pancake.

April 24

Overheard: "Time machines are not toys Greyson!"

April 22

Greyson at play, "We have a sonic transmitter that will annoy mom, but dad won't be able to hear it because those over 39 can't." 

April 21

Me, "Grant if you flew off the Scrambler, do you think you could fly to the moon?"
Grant, "I don't think I'm strong enough to go through the earth's magnetic field!"

 

April 10

Me: Grant, I can't understand you, you're speaking whinese!
Grant: why can't you understand whinese?
Me: I think something happens when you grow-up and you just can't understand it anymore.

April 4

Me, "Well, if you don't like it, grow-up and move out and get your own place to do what you want."
Greyson (age 10), "No way! I'm living here as long as I can, moving out is expensive!" 

Easter

Easter was a pretty good day, so I'd like to share it with you!

We started out with the kiddies invading our room at about 6:30, yes the same kids I have to DRAG out of bed at 7 on school mornings! After they lay in bed with us for a while, Greyson says, "Get up so we can look for eggs and look in our baskets!" After thinking 'Yes! They know they need to wait for us so we can see the joy on their faces when they look at everything,' I say, "Go ahead and find the hidden eggs and then we'll be out."

Baskets held Michigan tee shirts, chocolate and a few small toys for the kiddies. After going through his basket, Greyson famously announces, "Is the Easter Bunny on a budget too? Easter seems smaller!" And the real truth behind that statement is Aunt Marie wasn't here to go overboard on candy this year! I'm hesitant to buy a lot of candy when the kids have ONE PIECE after dinner! But my husband also surprised me with caramel kisses and mini Heath bars.

Then it was off to church. I have to say that normally I enjoy a contemporary service, but holidays (Easter & Christmas) leave me longing for the older fashioned hymns. So, in my mind all day long I was humming the words to "Up from the Grave" and "He Lives!"

Church was also full of activities. An Easter egg hunt followed the service and Grant was super excited to fill his basket while Greyson had fun beforehand filling the eggs and hiding them. Then there was a balloon release which filled the cloudy sky with bright colors soaring upward. There was also a flowering of the cross which decorates a cross with ... flowers!

 After church we had a lunch of lasagna which turned out great. Everyone was happy, and that's hard to do at our house. Even picky Grant eat some for the first time ever.

After the kiddies got their "electronics" fill we ventured out to the Botanical Garden at City Park. We became "Friends of City Park" members this year and that gave us free admission. While it was very interesting, I will think twice before taking my kids again. They wanted to TOUCH everything! I'm sure you're not supposed to touch every cactus you walk by or try to plug the electrical outlets together outside. Oh my goodness, I'm tired thinking back to that day! It was also hot, bordering on 80 degrees, so I'm sure that helped zap the patience out of me too.

For dinner we followed our tradition of going to Magazine Pizza. Last year we drove around trying to find a pizza place that was open - to satisfy the kiddies - and ran across Magazine Pizza, although my husband had been there before. Grant declared it the best pizza in New Orleans! Both him and I finished our individual pizzas while Alex and Greyson only eat about half of their carnivore pizza.



And because it's the beginning of the month.....
I found I do much better with my fitness goals when I post them on here.
In March I ran almost 66 miles, my 2nd highest month! However, I am making it my goal in April to get more weights in. I do a circuit training video when I can't get outside (weather or no one to watch the kiddies), but I am going to make an effort to do that every other day and run on the opposite days.
I said last month I wanted to lose 1 pound and lost 2.5. Yea! So now I have 3 pounds to lose before we get an onslaught of visitors in May, which of course means eating out. This should equal losing 3lbs in 6 weeks, so it should be do-able!