Buffalo, New York Day 3

Knowing we had a 4+ hour drive back home to Ohio this day, we thought it'd be a good idea to take them to a park and let them run off some energy!

Caleb walked the WHOLE way around the playground on that beam and was SO proud of himself!

And yet, after 2 hours of playing here, Caden still did not sleep a wink the whole way home!

Buffalo, New York Day 2

A Day at Niagara Falls with Friends & Family!

Robin & Eric 

Caleb & Caden

Caleb

Caden

Family Photo

:)

Picnic in the Park

Buffalo, New York Day 1

My family on the steps of Sesame Street :)

:)

We spent the day at the Buffalo Museum of Science and at a Buffalo Bison's minor league baseball game before relaxing for the night at Robin & Eric's apartment.  A good start to the weekend!

Adventures Away from the Family

Last week I attended a conference for work.  It was a two day seminar in Columbus, that I was attending for an insurance certification.  It did not start off on a good foot Monday morning!  I heard my phone ringing around 6:30 and immediately knew I'd screwed up!  I was to meet another member of our team at 6:15 at the office, and I hadn't packed yet!  I somehow made it out my door in 15 minutes and to work 30 minutes later!  Thankfully I live fairly close to the office!

We made it to the conference only 5-10 minutes late and embarked on two days of FREEZING in a frigid conference room.

After my fairly embarrassing moment that morning, you would think things would turn around, but no, I had to top that one, with a BIG one.  During dinner, somehow the topic of the play "The Vagina Monologues" came up, and I was sharing my experiences in seeing them.  I would highly recommend seeing them!  They're wonderful.  Anyway, as I was talking about this in a loud/noisy place we choice to dine for the evening I more or less yelled vagina as the waitress stepped up the the table right in front of me.  Which led to a rousing bout of laughter from all of my co-workers!

Post-dinner we decided to walk back to our hotel which was less than a mile away, but I wasn't having any of that in high heels.  Co-workers thought it was quite unsanitary to be walking in downtown Columbus in bare feet.  Having lived through a flood, I'm slightly less concerned about that.

To make matters even better/more embarrassing, when I laugh, I snort.

Day two didn't get any warmer, but I survived the class and the 50 question multiple choice test.  Then it was off to another meeting with two of my co-workers.  Following that we decided stopping for some ice cream might be a good idea, and it was delicious!  On our way back home, our driver happened to miss our exit and we ended up near Easton.  We decided at that point it would be a great idea to try The Melting Pot.

None of us had ever been before, we were missing our dinners at home, and for me, my house was out of power due to an accident in town.  Needless to say, I don't think any of us will be dining there again.  It was a crazy large amount of food, and a wild variety of food.  None of us felt our best when we'd finished.  We all settled in for the two hour drive home and back to reality of work and family life.

I enjoyed my time away, but it is always wonderful to come home to family.

Hi! We're new to the neighborhood, please don't think we're criminals!

Nearly a year ago, we closed on our first home!  It was such an exciting time, our families joined us for the first tour of our new home that evening.  Afterward, we locked up, a little too well, and were leaving for the night.  On our way out hubby noticed we'd left a light on inside, so he went to go back in the front door to shut it off.  We had only taken the key to the front door with us, because all 4 doors to our house take different keys!  Well, I had locked the storm door from the inside to keep the kids from running outside while the door was open.  When we locked up, we shut the front door not thinking a thing about it, and we went out through the garage. 

We were locked out of our own new house!

Well, we left the light on and decided we'd figure something out Saturday morning.

Saturday morning we armed ourselves with a plan and our break-in tools to get those keys out of our house!  Fortunately, I had remembered that I couldn't get the kitchen window locked while we were there.  We used a flat piece of metal to pry the window open.  We knew the keys were laying on our "island" across from the kitchen sink, and the window is above the kitchen sink.  We carefully placed our ladder to reach the window around our air conditioning unit, and climbed up armed with 10' of PVC piping with a sturdy metal hook electrical taped to the end of it.  Our window isn't big enough for a full size adult to fit through, and I didn't trust putting one of our 3 year old boys inside.  I foresaw getting them in and stuck inside running around an empty house with us still locked out!  We very carefully feed the piping in through the window, hooked the keys that were laying on the counter across the kitchen, and pulled them out to safety! 

In our new neighborhood at 7:30 in the morning on the first weekend we own the house, we were quite worried our neighbors would think we were robbing the neighborhood and call the police!  And we wonder now why so few of the neighbors talk to us...!

A Mouse!?

Well I've been MIA for a week or so now!  It's been a busy time for us!  Expect blogs soon (hopefully!) about our trip to Buffalo, my conference for work, and hopefully Cedar Point! 

Anyway, my husband thinks there is a mouse in our garage.  He insisted that he run to the store that very minute for a mouse trap.  He came home, we ate dinner as a family, and he got the peanut butter out to bait the mouse trap.  The boys were fascinated with this!  They were quite dissapointed they had to go to bed instead of helping Daddy put the trap outside in the yard. 

The next morning at the breakfast table, Caden asks about the mouse trap.  He asks if he can do with Daddy to see if there is a mouse.  Keith explains the process to him a bit.  Keith: "Maybe we'll see a mouse in the trap."  Caden: "And we can see it's footprints too!?"

We still haven't caught a mouse, but Caden asks daily: "Can we see the mouse footprints!?"

Giving for a Cause

Twice in my life thus far, I have donated to my hair to an organization such as Locks of Love.  To be honest, I can't tell you what similar organizations my hair went to either time I've done it, but I do know that it went to a good cause.  

The first time I donated my hair, I was a senior in college.  I participated in our Relay for Life events at on campus, and that year our planning team organized a mass hair donation evening for anyone on campus who was interested.  MANY people signed up, and I had a late night evening around midnight I think for my hair to be cut off at the saloon across the street from campus.  I LOVED my long hair, and I was quite anxious for it to be cut off!

The second time I donated my hair was about 7 months ago the week after we'd come home from our honeymoon!  I donated at the local place in town, where I take the boys regularly for their hair cuts.  I also get my hair trimmed up there now bi-annually.  The boys were with me when I donated the second time, and it was a great opportunity to share a story of giving with them.

On our honeymoon, prior to donation.

Post hair donation.

Dairy Princess

I was once, no twice my county's dairy princess runner-up.

Warning: You're about to see me, in some of my wonderful high school glory hell!

 Wayne County Dairy Junior Dairy Princess Runner-up

Wayne County Dairy Princess Runner-up

How does someone become a dairy princess you ask?  I grew up showing dairy cows and my parents own their own business in the industry.  Due to my involvement in the industry, I had the opportunity to "compete" to be the county dairy princess.  I completed an application and gave a speech relating to the dairy industry. 

What does a dairy princess do?  Well, I made a few appearances at local farm shows and tours with my sash and promoted the industry.  I was in a parade to celebrate our town.  And a few activities and appearances at the dairy shows and the county fair to assist with handing out awards and such!

Agriculture and the dairy industry can really become a part of you.  I always wanted a career in agriculture; it is a passion of mine, and now I am insuring farms and commercial agribusiness continuing my dedication to the industry!

I have something to share with you Mommy!

Tonight after a dinner of leftovers, the boys had some of their cereal/snack mix they receive/make at day care occasionally.  I was moving around the house picking up things, when I hear them asking for me from the kitchen table.  "Mommy, I have something for you!"  I make my way to the table and Caleb gives me a whole M&M to have.  He has a big smile on his face and when I thanked him, he made it a serious point to say "you're welcome!"  The Caden tells me he has a baby one to share with me too.  I hold out my hand, and this is what I got:

He shared; however, he may need a little extra help in understanding!

Good morning Mommy; I'm 4 now!

Every Time I do a D&C I Think of You

I went in for my yearly OBGYN visit recently.  It was sort of an unusual visit as it was my visit after my blighted ovum experience. As I'm laying there, covered in a thin sheet and a silly piece of paper I always manage to tear, my doctor shares with me that every time she's done a D&C since my first one, she thinks of me.  She said she didn't want to pull another "Bethany."  With my feet still in the stirrups and still so *comfortable* in my state of attire, I just kind of nodded.  How do you respond to that?  I'm glad my not so wonderful experience taught you something?  I'm glad I could be your guinea pig?  Thank you for doing it better the second time?  All these things floating in my head, and I just nod hoping I'll be able to be dressed again soon, and that we could have just stayed on our Twilight Saga small talk!

It was a strange experience, and definitely something I'm not interested in repeating, but I am in no way angry at my doctor.  I still think she's basically awesome, and was glad to have her along on the ride with us through out experience.  I just find humor in the conversations that happen with your legs in the stirrups!