Green Meadows petting zoo

We visited this petting zoo, as we do every year, while we were up there last month.

Each year, we learn another lesson. First, it was to make sure everyone has on sneakers. Next, it was to bring snacks. Then, it was to eat a meal JUST before going. This year, it was to bring enough drinks for everyone for the day.

I'll never learn.

Great place for children and families that need a day off of the parks in Orlando.

Love this place.

Pumkin patch photos

What fall photo is complete without the annual trip to the pumkin patch?

Here's ours - no Paige - we took the kids to the patch at the animal farm in Orlando.

Paige was home with Grandma.

Finally some photos!

I finally got my photos out of my camera. I can't edit them because I still can't get the software to open up, but I'm afraid that I'll have to back up my files and just delete the whole thing, starting from scratch. It'll be next year and I still won't have it done.

Anyway, here are some photos... just so you can see the little ones.

My words were published!

Not in a major magazine, but remember that blog I wrote about the girl in a wheelchair and how I stop the watch her mother place her into the car each day?

Well, one of my friends runs the hospital's news bulletin... and she printed it in the latest version of it!!!

She didn't even tell me first.

I was at work this morning and one of my managers came up to me, crying, to tell me she was touched by what I'd written.

I was like..."I haven't written anything - what are you talking about?" and she told me about the bulletin... it is called the Westword.

I spent my day... at work approached by people - some of whom I don't even know - who came to me in the hallways and let me know how that article touched them.

I was really surprised... I saw my friend - who printed it - and told her a little warning would have been nice. She told me that if she had told me she was planning on using it, I'd have told her no.

She was right.

The bowels of our home

Somewhere, deep within the bowels of our home, are the missing items from our home.

1. about 20 unmatched socks - that will never have a match because the other one got thrown out months ago when I could find a pair.

2. Meredith's Nintendo DS. (Olivia's was there too, but it came back to us last week... it had been placed in a duffel bag that was shoved in the back of a closet.)

3. About 3 pairs of sneakers... one for each child. They are new and were replaced when my children needed a pair of shoes and I couldn't find the ones I just bought.

4. Every pencil in our home that is sharp.

5. Our pencil sharpener.

6. Olivia's kindergarten and first grade photos... I placed them in a SAFE place. So safe, I forget where they are. Only important because I bought a frame for the school photos and now hers is empty in the first two slots.

7. Every pacifier Paige ever used. I gave the preschool ONE and they still have it. I bought 10 and can't seem to find any. Not a big deal because she doesn't use them anymore, but my point is that she doesn't use them because there was none to be found.

8. Many, many hair ties.

9. Quite a few missing puzzle pieces.

10. My sanity!!!!!!! Right?

There is much much more, too. But I'll let it go now.

So, I emailed my brother, over this weekend, to schedule a day for him to come over and try to fix this computer glitch. You know, the whole thing with the camera.

I have a laundry list of other things about the computer that I want him to look at. Little things like... getting rid of some programs that I cannot seem to delete from my computer. Or addressing the fact that the Apple Ipod I have won't allow me to create a backup CD for music purchased over the internet. There's more but I won't bore you.

I had to work today. I thought, until this morning, that they were going to cancel me. Turns out that we had a busier day than most weekdays. It was crazy busy and I got stuck there for 12 hours.

Came home to my parents here, helping Bryan, and dinner on the table. This is why I love family.

Paige is 'this close' to sitting up on her own. She is just beautiful, very pretty, big eyes that track you across the room. She also has mastered the walker and now actually chases us across the rooms in it.

Wade got put to bed early tonite and with much drama. He bit the baby on her finger... hard!!! It left little teeth marks on her pinkie. I was sitting right next to them and he was kissing her. Next thing I know, she is crying and I can't figure out why.

Then Wade announces that he bit her. He was almost proud! Well, he got a pop on the mouth and placed immediately to bed. ( it was already 8pm, not like he wasn't needing to go) but he didn't know what time it was. He was crying; Paige was crying.

It was rather loud.

As I sit here, Bryan is watching TV with his cousin, Michael, who is visiting from Virginia. He comes in every year for a 10 day visit. Used to stay at our home, every year, but now we have no room so he stays with Bryan's brother Robert.

They are watching footballl... I'm here on the computer. I'm getting ready to go to bed... needing to rest after today.

Tomorrow, I'll be getting time and a half in pay for working. It was supposed to be my day off. I'll be loving next weeks paycheck.

I'm thinking Christmas!

I'm afraid I'll never figure out this thing with my camera and my inability to not understand why I can't pull photos out of it.

This is the problem with computers, they are wonderful when they work, but when something goes wrong... watch out. Either you just give up, get a new one or pay someone a whole lot of $$ to figure it out for you.

I'm glad this week is over. It was very busy. Started the soccer season - which only Meredith is playing, but the coordination of dinner preps, cleaning and laundry is just one more added stress to the mix.

Olivia, who HATED playing soccer last year, is now wishing she was on a team. She doesn't like to be left out... too bad. I refuse to spend $110 for her to play a game she hates.

Tomorrow is our first practice that I'll have to take all four children because Bryan has football during the day. It ought to be interesting.

Our neighbor, who has a child same age as Meredith, used to help out with carpooling the kids to soccer. But her child will beat the age limit by one day, so he got bumped up to the 7 years old teams... Meredith is on the 6 year old team.

So, what about this new President? I'm just glad that it is over... Obama didn't get my vote, but I don't think that John McCain deserved to win... so I'm glad that Obama won.

Why didn't John McCain deserve to win? Well, he had many opportunities to act like a pit bull and just take Obama down. There is enough questionable stuff out there (about Obama) that McCain could have used against him.... called him out on lots of issues, but he didn't.

Which tells us two things... either all the speculation surrounding Obama and his relationships with bad people were just trumped up rumors OR McCain just didn't have the balls to call out Obama on his past.

Either way, Obama comes out smelling like a rose. McCain blew the election.

However, we'll just refer to him as the Irish one - O'bama.
(just a joke)