Bear with me...

....while I work my magic on making this blog read-able.  I love the new blog template site I found since I do not have time to learn the intricacies of Photoshop and make my own.  I am just waaaay to tired to finish it tonight!! 

Good night!

Brrrrr!

 Before we get into winter, I thought I should post some pictures of what we’ve been doing the past couple weeks.

At the beginning of October I took Addison to see the Disney Princesses on Ice. We had wonderful seats and I think I was more excited than she was to go. Halfway through the production she wanted to go home. I am glad I got her to stay because the whole second half was Cinderella! I am hoping the tour stops again in Cincinnati next year!

  

 The following weekend we went to HallZOOween at the Cincinnati Zoo. It sure was a zoo that day! WAY too many people to enjoy it and even take pictures. Angie, Tony and Mom went with us all and they ended up riding the train since we had 4 ride passes. They waited at least an hour to even board the 5 minute train ride! I did take a couple of pictures in the children’s zoo since it wasn’t as busy as some of the other exhibits.

Then of course, this most recent weekend was Halloween. Addison decided to be a horse this year and it was the perfect costume because the weather was cold! Aunt Julie had us all over on Saturday night for a chili dinner, bonfire and trick or treat in her neighborhood. That night we stayed at mom and dad’s.

Angie and Mom

Last Sunday night we went to dinner at the Wessel’s and did another round of trick or treat in their neighborhood. WAY too much candy. I don’t know why I even thought that was a good idea! I am mad that I didn’t take advantage of the gorgeous weather we had this fall to take autumn pictures. My ONLY resolution for 2011 is to take the 2 SLR classes to learn how to use my camera. As much as I want a new lens, I thought I should at least know how to use the one that came with it, haha.

After trick or treat last night when I was putting Addison to bed asked if Santa was coming the next day. She’s so excited about Christmas this year! I told her we had to celebrate Thanksgiving first so we’ve been doing turkey crafts to prepare! I love how she is so much like me—she loves crafts and organizing things. She’s been getting into my scrapbooking stickers lately. At this point, I can’t see myself getting back into scrapbooking unless it is digital. I need an extra 400 sq ft of house space just to get everything out to scrapbook, haha.

Work is going very well. I am really enjoying my new job and staying super busy. Election Daywas Tuesday so our Commissioners are changing (only one) and I'm a little nervous about change because I believe the new commissioner's goal is to give raises to county employees which would only happen by laying people off.  I am more than happy to go without a raise (going on the third year) and keep people's jobs.  Good news is that the Children's Services levy passed! 

Bad news...Jack's cousin Jeremy's (In Michigan) cancer came back.  He will be 36 on December 8th (we share a birthday!)  He initially had Ocular Melanoma (eye cancer) and had a tumor removed from his eye a little more than a year ago.  This week we found that the cancer metastasized to his liver and now it is considered stage IV metastatic melanoma of the liver, which is a very dangerous and (currently) an incurable disease.  Jeremy and his girlfriend are due to have their first baby in March so everyone needs to pray that Jeremy's baby is able to meet his incredible father.  His doctor is at the University of Michigan and Jeremy is hoping he's able to participate in a clinical trial because there is not current treatment for the type and progression of the type of cancer he has.  We hare looking forward to spending time with our Michigan family the week after Christmas.  So keep Jeremy and his family in your prayers because they need a miracle. 

I honestly don’t know how people write blog posts everyday. I just told Jack the other day that I just needed 2 more hours a day and I’d be happy!! Not that I’m not happy, but it would just be really nice!

Fall is always the busiest time of year for us with school starting and football season. This year Jack is coaching 7th and 8th grade football at the middle school. Varsity was too political for him last year. Plus, he’s not gone until 1 am on Friday nights and most of Saturday for films. His games are on Wednesday nights and he’s home by 9. Of course he has practice all of the other days of the week. We’ve been going to the Varsity games on Friday nights and Addison really seems to enjoy those; especially since we bring a blanket and sit right past the end zone with Jack’s other teacher buddies and their wives and kids. Here she is at last week’s game:

I have really busy at my work as well. I got a promotion in July and started my new position on August 2. I am a Contract Manager, who is responsible for managing our agency contracts with various vendors and other agencies. 75% of the contracts I’m responsible for are Children’s Services-related, meaning we place foster children and children who have been removed from their homes in residential treatment facilities (bad kids) and agency foster homes (Child Focus, etc.) The other contracts are ones with other County departments (Prosecutor, Juvenile Court, Common Pleas, etc.) and service providers such as Xerox. I work with another girl and we have about a total of 85 contracts. We trade off presenting contracts to the Board of County Commissioners on Wednesdays at 1 pm. If you are local and want to see me on TV, I’m on the government public access channel 15 (Digital cable) or channel 8 (regular cable). The times vary, so you’d have to check out this site for the schedule: http://www.clermontcountyohio.gov/program_schedule.pdf

I’m still doing our payroll (for 215 employees), so needless to say, I’m REALLY busy, which is great, because time flies! A promotion and raise are pretty much unheard of right now in this economy and working in county government. I feel very blessed that I was given this opportunity!!
As for Addison….she FINALLY started wearing her “Puddle Jumper” in August, only for the pool to close 4 short weeks later. She had some aversion to the devise even though every single kid under 4 wore one at the pool. She absolutely loves it because she can swim anywhere now! Here she is wearing it:I have a picture I'll post later...

She started actual pre-school at Batavia Heights in early September. It’s amazing how much she’s learned there in the 3 years she’s been going. She knows her ABC’s and can count to 20. She can almost write her name but can definitely trace her name like a pro. She asks very intellectual questions as well as funny ones; like today’s was why do crows like to eat the raccoons on the side of the road for dinner? I died laughing! She honestly wanted to know! Because her preschool is a Christian-based facility they have a portion of everyday where they do bible study. They have always prayed before they ate lunch so we’ve been doing that at home for a while now. This is the prayer she never forgets to say at dinner:

God is great, God is good

And we thank Him for our food

By his hand shall we be fed

Give us Lord our daily bread.

She’s looking forward to the upcoming holiday season. She has decided to be a horse for Halloween and we found an adorable costume at Kidz Again in Centerville. I just need some brown leggings and boots. Mom recently bought her pink cowgirl boots from Target, which are adorable so maybe she’ll wear those.

After the Bath

On Daddy's motorcycle

I recently reconnected with a friend I worked at TriHealth with. We actually shared an office when I got my first “real” job out of college as the Health Promotion Manager. Her name is Traci (House) Dickey. I was so sad that we lost touch because we had so much in common. She found me on Facebook. I knew she got married the same year Jack and I did. Well turns out that she has a little girl (Sadie) who is Addison’s age! She’s only a month younger. She also has a son (Cameron) who is 18 months old. They live in Miami Trails and have invited us over this Friday for dinner. We’re so excited to have the girls meet and reconnect. Her husband golfs so hopefully Jack will have a new golf partner since his friends around here never want to go. If Jack could golf every day he would….

Lastly, a stray kitty showed up on the last Saturday evening in August. I went to close Jack’s garage door and there she stood. Normally I would shoo cats away (since it seems like Clermont County’s cat population is like a million), but this one seemed really nice and came right up to Addison and I. I was hesitant to let Addison touch her so we finally took her to the vet last Saturday. Addison named her Katy Kitty. She is healthy and about 8 months old. She is getting spayed next Monday. She likes to stay in the garage during the day and night and when we are home she sometimes hangs out inside with us. I just really don’t need anymore animal hair then we already have with Zippy. First day she came in I had just put up Halloween decorations and since she knows she’s a Halloween cat, she jumped right up next to this pumpkin. How hilarious is this picture?

Since I have not posted anything since the beginning on July, I wanted to mention 2 other fun mini vacations we took in July. The middle of July we had a Deremiah family reunion at Eagle Pointe resort in Bloomington, IN. It is a golf resort, so Jack and Tony were in heaven. It was the 3rd or 4th time we had been there with my dad’s side of the family. Fun times.

The end of July Jack and I (along with Angie, Tony, mom, dad, Julie, Scott, Jack and Cameron) went to St. Louis for my cousin, Leslie’s, wedding. Since it was going to be an eventful and exhausting weekend, Addison went to Lake Erie with Grandma and Grandpa. We toured the Anheiser-Busch brewery and the famous Arch. The wedding was in a park at the Piper Palm House. It was a little warm on the hottest day in July (over 100 degrees), but it was really fun!!  In August we went to Brookville Lake for a Palmer family reunion (mom's side).  Here is a picture of Addison and Jack canoeing in their small pond at their lake house.

Other than that, we've just been having a bunch of fun.  These pictures are from my phone so they may not be the best quality, but we are having a good time with our new iphones!!  I took this picture of my new

perm and used the free Photoshop app to "sketch" it.

We are working this weekend to finally finish the master bath.  I sold the oak vanity on Craig's List in less than 24 hours and bought a new dark/espresso wood with granite top.  I ordered an oil-rubbed bronze faucet and should get that by tomorrow.  I'll post pics when it is done.

Fun on the 4th!

We had a wonderful time in Michigan over the 4th of July holiday. Since this has been our third trip to Michigan over the 4th of July holiday, we’re going to make it our annual trip. The weather was absolutely perfect, as well as the company and food! It should take about 5 ½ hours to drive to Port Huron/Marysville, but we ALWAYS run into traffic or construction so it took us almost 7 hours this time. We did have to drop Zippy off at mom and dad’s and only stopped for bathroom breaks twice. We hit Detroit at rush hour on Friday before a holiday-HORR-I-BLE!! Of course Addison had to potty as we sat in traffic so we got off at the next exit and went into the nastiest, dirtiest, unisex restroom in Detroit, of all places. I won’t go into anymore details. Let’s just say we’ll NEVER do that again! Once we got there, Addison swam and played with Jack’s cousin’s kids-RJ and Grace. She just adores them!! Grace is 5 and RJ is 10. Mary made a great (and healthy) dinner for everyone and then we took advantage of their hot tub that overlooks the St. Clair River. It is gorgeous at night!

These pictures of Addison, RJ, Steve and Grace were all taken by either Addison, Grace, or uncle Steve. Aren’t they pretty good??

Saturday was a relaxing day-Amy and I laid out near the dock while Addison played with Grace then after lunch we went to cousin Jeremy’s house to swim and grill out.

Sunday was the 4th, so we went to a friend of the family’s house for a party after hanging out at Rick and Tara’s in the morning so that Addison could play with Grace.

The Berger’s also live on the water, but they have a small beach and a great dock with 2 slides. I am going to have to get my mother in law’s camera because she has more pictures than I do of that party. This is Addison going down the slide!!

The food all weekend was great, especially since Tara is also vegetarian. Got some great recipes and already made my own balsamic vinaigrette dressing, which is wonderful!! Tara’s friend, Amber Berger, is also vegetarian and she made a bunch of the food at the Berger’s party.

Monday we made the trip home. Amy caught a ride home with us, which was nice because Addison had company in the back seat. I’m sure Amy enjoyed watching Arthur DVD’s with her for 5 hours!

We’ll be home for one weekend and then we’ll be going to the Deremiah reunion at The Pointe, south of Bloomington, IN. Jack and Tony are excited to golf and we’re excited to hang out at the pool!! The weekend after that is Leslie’s wedding in St. Louis. Addison is going back to Michigan with Jackie for the power boat races that weekend, so it will be Jack and I, Tony, Angie, mom, dad, and then the Langer family. We’re excited to do the Anheiser/Busch beer tour and go up in the arch.

Side point: on the way to MI we were listening to 700WLW and they were discussing the 40 best burgers in Cincinnati. The #1 burger is from a place in Mason called The Wildflower Café. It is a family-owned business who buy ALL local, in-season, organic food. Their beef is from grass-fed cattle and their chicken is free range. We’re so excited to try it out (obviously I won’t try the burger, but Jack can!!) Check out their website: www.wildflowercafeandcoffeehouse.com

Bathroom Mood Board

I have been having fun creating mood boards in Elements.  Here is my plan for Jack's bathroom.  I am having trouble finding "saveable" paint chips because most paint websites use Flash (light gray will be the wall color).  I'm ripping out the trim and putting in thick white trim and a white 6 panel door.  I still can't believe how cheap the builder was (and who still uses GOLD hardware??)

She's THREE!!

Happy Birthday Addison!

She's growing up too fast!! This is her helping me make her (second) cake.  First cake was a flop...it was supposed to be a Barbie cake (where the cake is Barbie's skirt).  I tried to take a short cut and use a Pyrex bowl to bake it in instead of buying the $20 kit at Hobby Lobby.  The cake I ended up with was wonderful though and home made!!

Friday I took off work to go to the zoo, but plans changed for the better and I took her to the swim club we belong to.  It was a gorgeous, cloudless day, 89 degrees.  Here she is on the slide...

Friday Jack was in Kettering helping Angie and Tony build their fence, so Addison and I went up there in the evening for dinner with them and mom and dad.  Jack came down with the flu that I had the previous Wednesday and he was in bed (and bathroom) ALL day with a fever.  I had the Wessel's over for dinner.  I made chicken kebabs with peppers, onions, zucchini, and tomatoes; mac and cheese (Addy and Steve's request), broccoli salad, etc.

Besides the zoo membership, Jackie and Jim bought her the Zuko popsicle maker from Williams Sonoma that I've been wanting since Christmas.  It was sold out all over Ohio at Christmas time.  It is SOOOOOO cool.  It freezes popscicles in 7 minutes.  We tested it out on Sunday morning with a strawberry kiwi Danimal smoothie. 

Jackie also whipped up 2 adorable outfits--the one she is wearing and then a white dress with ladybugs on it.  I am saving it for a birthday party in the future.

Sunday Jack was feeling better (it was a 24 hr flu) so we went back up to Centerville for Addy's birthday pool party at Aunt Julie's house.  She got WAY too many gifts!! All she really wanted was a model car that was yellow like her Pawpaw's.  Mom got her a tiny one and she thought it was the best ever!  She did like Aunt Angie and Uncle Tony's Dora guitar too!

And she was the only one who swam since it was only about 70-75 degrees and windy!!  New suit thanks to Aunt Julie!

And then we had ELE cake!!  ELE cake was who made Angie's wedding cake and this is the third cake we've gotten from there since her wedding in April. 

Absolutely best weekend ever!!  Addison is such a little princess and a mini-me.  Before Jackie and Jim came over and brought her birthday outfit, she was dressed like me.  She even wanted to take a picture of me with my old Nikon point and shoot...this is what she got....pretty good, huh??

I was finishing the relish tray with my apron :)  She was laughing so hard

Mike and Katie's Wedding

Mike and Katie's wedding was on May 15th and I'm just now getting around to uploading my pictures!!!

Hubby Jack and I (thank goodness he doesn't read my blog because he would have a cow if he saw this picture of him.  He must have had a couple of drinks before this picture because he NEVER shows his teeth in pictures!)

Amy, Katie, and I

Me acting crazy with my mother in law behind meJack, me, and SteveKatie and SteveMegan, me, AmyThe Siebenthaler siblings: Robert, Katie, DannyAmy, Katie, me, Megan

I think between Megan's husband Jeremy and I, we took 120 pictures on my camera!  This was the wedding that Addison was supposed to be the flower girl in and had a melt down when she was getting her dress on.  She ended up staying with Angie and Pa'Ma that evening.  We had a wonderful "date night" at the wedding and reception.