Project Life...

So, even though there have only been three weeks in the New Year, I have done four "weeks" of Project Life... cuz I rock like that.  ;-)  I have been able to keep up on printing pictures, journaling and documenting our life... and WOW... we have done a LOT!

In the first week, I didn't take any pictures except for at the MSU gymnastics meet of the girls...and the pics that the professional shared with me!!  So, I did an entire spread for that event!

I love the ease of just slipping a picutre into a sleeve!  No gluing or anything! I do cut some because I am putting some pictures in the 4x3 slots too... as you can kinda see if you look closely.... I love the precut journalling cards that just coordinate with everything and say really cute things too!

The second week, again... not a ton of pictures... but, I did caputre some of some visitors we got on Friday... Kate, Leo and Sharon came over... and then, Saturday, the kids and Scott had some outdoor play before he and I went to Ann Arbor for our night out. So all those pics made up another spread...

Then... the following weekend was Ally's big slumber party... I amazingly did NOT get as many pictures as I thought I would.  Ally didn't want me all up in their space too much..... I can't believe that's happening already!!!!  Boo!!!!  But, what I did capture made another two page spread in the Project Life 2011 book...

The day after the slumber party, was Ally's Daddy/Daughter Dance at Queens.... notetworthy enough to take up it's own layout... although I am considering taking it down to one page and making the other side Sunday's events from last weekend... we shall see..... that's the best part of Project Life... you can move anything and everything around... add later... whatever your little heart desires! 

Now... I have a new camera too... I can't wait to see what I can do with that... and I am excited to learn!!!  A friend of mine wants me to take a basic class with her and I just might!  Would be fun to learn how to get off "auto mode!"  HAHA!!! But, for now... I'm pretty darn content with just that!  Enjoying documenting my journey with you....

 

Birthday Eve..

Today is Ally's birthday eve.  :-)  Like I said on Facebook... we celebrate birthdays for a week or more at our house!  You have "birthday week"... which sometimes bleeds into a two week span of time.  In Ally's case, it does... at least this year anyway!

She had her birthday slumber party last Friday (I really am going to get on the pics and post about that soon - promise!).  The Daddy/Daughter dance at Queens was Saturday. Yesterday, I took her shopping to spend some birthday money she got from her Grandma Kathy.  And today is birthday eve of course. ;-)  She wanted Thai for her birthday dinner, but it's too hard to make for a large group and we are having some extended family for dinner tomorrow, so she gets Thai today.

Tomorrow's meal is yet to be decided as all Ally can think of is bacon. That's right folks - just bacon.  ;-)  We will have Nana, Papa, Aunt Jane, Uncle Adam, Gracie and the babies over tomorrow (poor Jilli and Lyla - they always get referred to as one entity!).  I am making cupcakes for her classroom tomorrow...and she is looking forward to being in charge of the class treat.

Then... this weekend, our friends from Chicago are coming to town to celebrate too.  The party never ends I tell ya.....  :-) There are worse things than making a girl freel special on her birthday week!

Ally has already received so many amazing gifts from her friends and some gifts and money from family.  She recieved an American Girl outfit from her friend Morgan - the new "summer dress" for Kit that she's been drooling over!  She got a robe that she BEGGED me for with peace sign embroidered on it. Yep.. we're at that stage already! And also an adorable piggy bank from her friend Kennedy.  Then... she got all this amazing American Girl scrapbook/photo book/stickers assortment along with some Little Pet Shop toys from Caitee. Also, a new DS game from Delaney, a pillow and diary set from Cara and "Slumber Party" toys from Quinn.  Someone has been spoiled rotten already!  :-)))))  Her friends were more than generous with their gifts and Ally was very gracious as she opened them all. I was proud of how she acted.

Then, yesterday... she sat right down and hand made them all Thank You cards.  They are adorable. We made a collage of pictures from the party and printed them on my handy new photo printer!!! Love this little printer for my Project Life journey!!!  Helps that I got it on kick-ass clearance at Best Buy..... !!! Very happy!!!!

I was very proud of her gratitude.......

Speaking of gratitude... I owe a bit of it to my hubby... who so graciously puts up with my obsessions on a daily basis.  As I am trying to print more pictures (the printer purchase!)... and document our year (Project Life)... I also have been obsessing about getting a better camera for quite some time. But, that obsession hit a fever pitch this past weekend as I really got into printing my pictures and starting my book.  So, I decide to talk seriously about making this major purchase.  Mind you... I did not mean TODAY when I made the following statement:

"Hey babe... I really want to get a DSLR camera" - Me

"Okay, just as long as you take the kids so I can watch football"  - Scott

HAHAHAHA!!!!  OKAY!!!!!!  Luckily, I had done some research and talked to Nicole about what she thought was best......... so off I went, kids in tow and bought myself a new camera!!!!!  WOO HOO!!!  Very exciting.  I know I will never be that great at the artistic side of it all.. but I will at least take better pictures to start with... better quality and I can capture my kids as they MOVE!!!  That is my biggest problem with point and shoot..... you can't capture them in motion very well.  So, I am pretty pumped up about my new purchase.  I am thoroughly enjoying Ally's birthday week!  :-)))))))

Peace and Quiet...

Here I sit in bed. Luke is asleep. Has been for half an hour. It was a rough day with him but worth it for this moment right here. He was up late last night too.... It was Ally's slumber party! Will post on that tomorrow though.... Scott has my camera as he and Ally are at a Daddy/Daughter dance tonight.

I am enjoying doing very little. Enjoying even more being able to play with Scott's iPad!! Downloaded blogpress and this is my inaugural post!!!! Gonna play with posting some pics.....




So.... We shall see how that works. It is a ton easier than on the laptop... We shall see if it posts!!!!

So.... I'm off to do nothing some more. The house needs picking up. But that is just gonna have to wait til tomorrow!!!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Quick Update ...

Okay, okay... so I haven't written in almost a week!  It has been a busy week... which all started on a very bad note. Well, maybe not all bad! But... it was a roller coaster weekend of sorts.

Saturday night, Scott and I went to Ann Arbor to celebrate his birthday (which was Sunday).  I kept the entire thing as a surprise to him. He didn't  know where we were eating or that we were staying in a hotel that night.  My cousin Becky came and stayed with the kids and she didn't let on that she was staying... just that she was watching the kids for dinner.  Ally knew, but was amazing at keeping the secret! She liked being in on it!  And, she was pretty excited Becky was staying over...;-)

So... we drive to Ann Arbor.... he didn't even know that was our destination... and I tell him where to go. We pull into the hotel (Campus Inn right downtown!) and he is so confused.... he is assuming dinner is here or something. I just tell him to pop the trunk and smile as I grab  the bag I secretly packed and stashed in the trunk while he was in the shower. I am quite proud of myself. I suck at keeping secrets. I hate surprises.

We check in... and have an hour before dinner, so we grab a drink at the hotel bar, Victors.  Which is pretty cool except for all the Michigan memorabilia.  ;-)

We walk to Vinology.... one of our favorite places to eat in Ann Arbor. They have amazing seasonal cuisine and you can order half plates of things and share items in a tapas style!  LOVE!!! We shared two appetizers and three half entrees.  We had an amazing bottle of wine.  Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon (my fave Pinot comes from there!). We had a great chat with the manager about wine tours and tastings and he even shared some amazing single malt scotch with Scott and taught us all about scotch. It was just really  a perfect dinner out.

Scott and I absolutely love good food.. fine wine... and enjoying a meal together in an amazing town.... and just talking for hours.  Our perfect date night out!  Add to that... a hotel within walking distance... and no children to wake us up in the morning and you have heaven people.

Unfortunately, I had something else wake me up all to early.... a stomach virus of some sort.  Holy crap!!!!!!!  At around 3 am, I woke up and started puking violently........ and being that we had exactly one bottle of wine (and you all know I can drink more!) I knew it wasn't from drinking.  As the hours went by and Scott didn't start... I then  knew it was a bug.

YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pukes didn't last too long... but the body aches, fever and chills that followed were worse.  We made our way home (no yummy breakfast.. BOO!) and I got in bed.   Our birthday party for Scott was moved to his parents' house... and luckily, I had already made his birthday soup... so they enjoyed that without me.... I slept the day away...

Fever broke in the night and by morning I was just fine......... just like that. Crazy!

Monday, the kids and I spent the day at home as it was Martin Luther King Day. No school!  Ally still had gymnastics and I had a wine tasting event with the girls... so we met Scott for dinner in between at Hugos...and had a great day all-around!

Tuesday - Ally had a "rain" day.  I refuse to call it a snow day. It rained and was like 40 out.  :-))))  Still, she enjoyed the day off at Nana and Papa's and absolutely loved helping take care of the twins. She is a good little helper.

We are back to school and work now....... and it's a good week.  I am gearing up to have seven little girls for a birthday sleepover tomorrow!!!  HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :-)  It should be fun................

Hope you're all having a great week......

Star Student...

Ally is an amazing student. She really is. I don't like to crazy brag about my kids. I find it annoying in others... ;-)  But, you have to state the facts here... she really does work hard at the things she likes (reading/writing/spelling/art) and it pays off in her grades!

She has her second book report of her second grade year... and she is reading a book on Mother Teresa. She has to write the report, and then design a life size portrait of her using poster board. These two assignments are right up her ally!  :-) She comes home every day and announces "I have to work on my book report!"

It's important to work on homework in your State leotard, should you need to launch into some gymnastics at any moment...  :-)))))  We have many outfit changes here at the McIntosh household. School uniform... to leo... to skinny jeans... to comfy clothes or PJs.  It's how she rolls.

She is pretty cute when she is focused on something. I like watching her work and how she organizes her books and paper... how she looks when she's reading.... she has quite the serious thinking face and she was mostly annoyed that I was taking these pictures of her.  Annoying iPhone camera mom - that's me!!!!

Tonite my little social butterfly is off to the Michigan Gymnastics meet. Yes, you heard me right. Michigan. U of M. The University of Michigan. The maize and blue.  :-))))  A friend of hers invited her and she was so excited.... but I think a little worried that we would say no cuz it was Michigan.  HA!  She said "it's still gymnastics Mom and I love gymnastics!"  It was cute... Scott even went so far as to say if she wanted, we would get her a U of M shirt... she passed... like any good Spartan would!  She's wearing a simple "Gymnast" shirt that is blue and green so as not to betray her roots.  Atta girl.  :-)

She will spend the night with Cara... so it's just us and Luke tonight.  One kid = easy Friday night for us!!!!  I am looking forward to my friend Kate's visit with her new baby Leo this afternoon.... she is coming over for "happy hour"... to share some wine with me... and our friend Jeanne might join us after work if she's not too exhausted.  She is a school nurse at Jackson High. Her days are stressful!!!!!  As you can imagine.  ;-)

Luke is anticipating "Baby Leo's" visit with much joy!  He can't wait to show him his playroom and share his toys. Baby Leo is about four weeks old.  :-))))) HAHA!  Trying to explain this to Luke is interesting..... he just told me he will share is Stokke chair with Leo.  What a generous little guy.  ;-)

A good day ahead... and in case you wondered, I'm still obsessing over Project Life... and now cannot stand that I don't have a kit to get started on my year!!!  ;-)  I have even checked eBay for a kit and if one were Buy It Now I probably would have ordered it by now.... but they are all auction.  This is a lesson in patience for me.  And it blows.  ;-)

Happy Friday blog friends!!

UPDATE: FIVE MINUTES LATER - Found a kit on eBay for $75 (original price $52)... ordered it. Requested expedited shipping. Impatience at it's finest here people.....  ;-)

Making Memories...

So, Nicole had a link on her FB page this morning... that was just what I needed to see.  I have been thinking about how to get my photos OUT of my computer... and into hard copies that I can page through in books and ENJOY!!!!  Last year for my birthday, Jane made me a photo album of all the pictures she had taken of our family in that year. I freakin' LOVE that photo album and it's the only real tangible thing I have to look at and enjoy!

A while back... I made a First Year photo album for Ally through iPhoto... and I really like it for the most part. It is just super time consuming to do... and while I want to still make albums for the kids from the previous years that I have not.... I want to start with the here and NOW to start getting tangible memory books of our lives.

Enter, Project Life... and in particular (I am thinking!), Digital Project Life.  At first, I was thinking of the traditional kit... where I would print pictures and hand write things... and have more of a "3D type book."  But... I am trying to be realistic here. Right now, I do zero, zip, zilch in the way of things like that - so the reality is... I am probably not going to be able to take or make the time to do something like that in the way I would really want to.  That's why I stopped scrapping in the first place... I had this unfinished, half assed book staring at me screaming "finish me... complete me... and do a better job!"  I cracked under the pressure...... it was just another thing I felt like I had to do... so I had to put it away.

But, I really still do think I want some physical books of pictures... and I need to find a way to do it!  I think Project Life may be a great way to start... starting with THIS year.  I like the week by week option.. and that I can just upload pics as the weeks go by, type/journal a bit about what happened... and at the end of the year, I will have an amazing memory book.  It might not look super cute with lots of scrapbooky type embellishments... but it will be something I can look back on and smile at. It would really accomplish another of my goals for the year!  A goal to get pictures in books, somehow, some way!!!!!

Just added:  All that said...... I still kind of want the actual kit more... the more I look at it... hahaha!  I can be so indecisive sometimes.  ;-)

Planner, Thinker, Do-er!

I am a planner. I am a thinker. I am a do-er!!!!  I am constantly planning for the future. I don't limit the scope or timeframe for my planning. I am happy to look days to years in the future... and I am constantly... CONSTANTLY doing this. The plan never dies... the planning never stops.

This leads me to constant thinking about my plans... my life... just thinking about a million different things. I once described my mind to someone as a room with 20 different TV screens on at once... and I am following every single screen. 

Then... I am a do-er..... I DO things.... I put my plan into action.... I follow through. I do not flake. I do not back down.  Of this I am most proud.  I love seeing a plan and my thoughts come to fruition.

These are all GOOD things... most of the time.  I can stay ahead of the game.  I am not rigid in my planning and do not freak out when a wrench is thrown into my plan.  I can go with the flow with the best of them. I always believe, no matter what... that things will work out as they should and that is for the best. I believe in the power of positive thinking. I am ever positive in my thoughts.

As I sit here today... I have planned Scott's birthday weekend.... I am very proud of my (surprise) plan. I have dinner planned with family on Sunday. Ally has plans with a friend Friday night.  Next week, I have plans to go to a wine tasting with the girls.  I have a sleepover birthday party planned next weekend for Ally. Ally's birthday is the during the week that follows. I will  plan dinner for her.  The following weekend, we have friends coming in from Chicago.

There is always something to look forward to... and I like seeing the calendar full quite frankly! I am thinking way ahead... like what to do for Spring Break and about my girls' weekend in Chicago in February.... and about summer vacation... and what to do with Ally and Luke... and where Luke will go to preschool in the fall..... ALL these thoughts occupy my mind each and every moment. It's constant motion.  It never stops.

It's such a good thing.  Most of the time.  I feel on top of things. I think things FULLY through. I always feel good about my choices.

But... what all of this means for the RIGHT HERE AND NOW... is that I have a hard time being fully present in the MOMENT. That is my challenge.

I cannot stop the planner in me. The thinker in me.  She lives and breathes and cannot be stopped. She just needs to be quieted from time to time.  I need to put the phone down.  Look away from the calendar. Step back from the computer.... and just be. Look around and smile at all that is around me in the here and now...... and know that I have surely done all the planning needed for the future.... for now anyway......  :-)

Present in my moment.  My 2011 challenge.  :-)

Cousins' Night...

I have a GREAT group of cousins. I read somewhere on Facebook a quote about cousins being your first friends... and I think that is SO true!  I come from a fairly close, albeit crazy, Polish family... and our Sundays were spent together at Grandma's house every week.  Our holidays were spent at Grandma's house, every time. And everyone's birthday was celebrated, all of us, together... on their birthday! It was a great way to grow up and I still look back on it and smile.

And what is the biggest part that makes you smile... it's your cousins!!  Sure, my aunts and uncles were great.. grandparents rocked... but they didn't play with you like your cousins did! They didn't share the secrets of what went on in the basement while you played down there and all the adults were enjoying the peace and quiet upstairs (note to self: nanny cam my basement!)

So, I still love seeing my cousins...... I am lucky enough to have some of them local... and most of them were home at Christmas time.... so we try to plan nights out when they are in town! This was our third. We always have some "honorary cousins" and this year.. Christy and Daryl were able to join us in the fun too... which made it that much more great!!!!!!!

We started out the night on a bad note... see previous story on hitting the deer!!!  ;-)  But, we quickly recovered and met up with everyone to kick the night off at Night Light downtown. They have my very favorite steak hoagie.... YUM!!!!!

That's me... and me and Scott and my cousin Becky and her boyfriend Jason... then, Daryl.... who is looking sad cuz Christy wasn't there yet and the waiter asked him if he was alone..... it was funny... so, Scott decided to be sad with him.... maybe I had just gone to the bathroom and those moments without me were too much to bear......  ;-)  HAHA!!!!!!

From Night Light... we moved on to OH! Piano Bar.... after a quick stop at Daryl's only to discover they were closed. At 10 pm.  SERIOUSLY????  Losers!  We partied on.. and headed to OH!!!! There was no piano... but there was Jeremy Sprague who ROCKS!!!  He is half the duo of the Sprague Brothers that my friend Chelsea and I used to party with ALL THE TIME back in the day when she lived in East Lansing. Good, good memories my friend...... good times.............  :-)

So, we had some more drinks and laughs at OH!  And.... OH! Christy got there, so Daryl was happy again......

The night ended drink-wise with shots..... always wise. :-)  We did attempt to go to Veaches... but a) it was packed and full of ridiculous people and b) someone dropped a stink bomb or passed the nastiest gas in the world and half the place cleared out and we just couldn't go back inside......  :-))))))))))))

So.... our fab night came to and end..... and no fountains were harmed this time around.... we did miss Brook, our honorary cuz who needs a lot of fountain baths....  :-)

Good times were had by ALL!

Operation No Nap....

... Was a total and complete success!!! At least today and I'm gonna take it !!! :-) Luke has been going to bed like poo lately and that's one thing I cannot take!!! So.... I am going to see what this does. Maybe it will just be a short term thing. Get him back on track. Maybe it's permanent. If so, I'm ok with it cuz the night is more important to me. And to Ally!!!

He was no more cranky than usual. Have you met my kids? ;). And we played a game. I set clear expectations. We read three stories. And I walked out of the room. He called to me. I went in once. Told him I would not come in again. He didn't call. Not a peep. I went and looked 20 min later and he was out!!!

So much better. I can't stand the screaming. I didn't appreciate the negotiating. None of it. I will let many things go. But don't mess with bedtime. Momma needs her time!!!! :-)


-- Post From My iPhone

Five Girls, One Special Night....

We went to the first MSU gymnastics meet of the season last night..... me.... five girls... no wine.  ;-)  It all started out with an after school pick up.... making them change at school before we left. The noise that came from the girls' bathroom was deafening. Their teachers were laughing.  My cousin (a teacher at Queens) was laughing at me the hardest. What was I getting myself into?  I had no back up! It was just me and them. Five girls. One mom.  I.  Am. Brave.  :-)

We got in the car... and it was instant singing...  DS playing..... giggling.... NON STOP TALKING! Girls don't even take a moment to breathe people.  NOT ONE BREATH!!!  They played this game where one girl had to not laugh... and all the other girls tried to make her laugh... it made me laugh the entire drive north.

They were pretty pumped. Hard to keep them still. I swear to you, if they weren't belted in, they would have been bouncing all around the car.....

We went to dinner (same place we went before the Green and White meet).... the MSU Hall of Fame Cafe.  The girls shared chicken fingers and Shirley Temples.  :-)))

We ate quickly... do you know how difficult it is to keep five little girls acting restaurant appropriate through a meal? :-)  They ended up singing. LOUDLY. All the songs they have been learning in music class.  It was actually freakin' adorable... and luckily the nearby patrons thought it was too. Since it was like 4:30... and only old people were eating.  :-)))

We headed over to the meet nice and early.... mostly we needed someplace they could RUN and burn energy. This group of girls need physical activity big time!!!

So, we arrived at Jenison and they were OFF!!!!!!  Ran around... and around... and around... and then, they saw the leotards for sale and it was all over.  They ran up to them, grabbing them as quickly as they could...  they run into the bathroom to change immediately... I had to inform them they needed to wear pants over them.... good lord.... ;-)

Look at all of them... leos... skinny jeans... too bad they were tumbling by this point and shoeless, cuz you are missing out on the fact that EVERY ONE of them were also wearing Uggs.  :-)

I even got a pic with the troops... even though the lady had no idea how to use my iPhone camera so it's horridly out of focus.  

Good, good times.... the girls would watch a rotation... and then go run and tumble... watch a little more... tumble some more...  :-)  Not so much with the sitting still.

At the end of the meet, the girls can get posters of the team and have them signed.... they had to be pretty patient and wait in line for some time... but not too bad since my mother-in-law got them in line right away (during awards).

Then, I noticed a man taking a zillion pictures of them, and while questioned it at first, quickly realized he was a professional....  ;-)  I watched him for a while... and then, had to ask... "Is there any way I can buy some images off you?"  I knew he was getting far better pictures than I was with my phone!  ;-)

What a great guy... took my email address... and emailed me 9 photos this morning!!!!  FREE... :)

The following images courtesy of DelRio Images:

What a great time the girls had..... we all headed home for a sleepover.  WHEW! I am brave!!!!!  They were no where near tired when we got home. In fact, they were pretty pumped up. They played until well after 1 am.... then, sat to watch some Hannah Montana and instantly passed out!  They all slept downstairs in sleeping bags... I sat upstairs sipping a glass of wine with Scott and said "this is when you REALLY appreciate our fabulously finished basement!"  The girls loved having their own space... floor... bathroom.... kitchenette and playroom.  It works out perfect!  

Unfortunately, they were up and at 'em by about 8:30!!!!  Oh well... we had waffles and bacon and eggs for breakfast.... they did a couple more hours of playing... and we took a couple girls home... and now Ally is at one of the other girl's house to play for the day. A big thank you to Kami Webster for realizing I did my tour of duty and giving me a break!  :-)

So, Luke and I are hanging now.... and I am fighting like crazy to NOT give him a nap.  We are going to lay together and have some quiet time... but the boy has been sleeping like complete crap lately... and just seems wide awake at bedtime... so we need to do something!

I know they were staying up later over Christmas break... but Ally needs to go to bed by 8 on school nights. She requires a lot of sleep.... so when he stays up talking and negotiating until 10 or sometimes 11.... it is NOT good. She came in my room some night last week just in silent tears... "I am so tired Mommy and Luke won't let me sleep!" Enough is enough.  Ally needs her sleep... and Scott and I need our time after 8.... so we have got to get this boy to SLEEP at 8 pm.

So... bye bye nap... it's been fun while it lasted, but the nights are more important to me!!!!!!!!!!

We shall see if this goes well or helps at all.  Interestingly enough, I picked Scott's busiest time of the year to do this... so I am a single mom 24/7 for a couple weeks as he is getting home around 11 pm these days. God bless year end. ;-)  

I know one little girl who will have NO troubles falling asleep tonite though........ a certain little Spartan who has had one heck of a 24 hours.....  :-))))))  

GO GREEN!

Is it Spring Yet?

I wasn't built for Michigan winters. I may not have been built for winter at all.  I'm over it. So over it and it's only the beginning of January. Technically... we have like three more months of this crap..... at least!  UGH!!!!

Why can't I have family in a tropical location?  Anyone want to move so I can always have a place to visit?  Is that too much to ask?  :-)

I'm cold... and I hate being cold.  Yesterday evening, I got home with the kids... and just felt blah... and cold... and did I mention blah??  It's totally why I'm dreaming of vacations and tropical locations.  A light at the end of this cold, dark tunnel. 

I need to force myself to enjoy some sort of winter activity.  Right now that activity is sitting inside, drinking wine and watching the snow.  :-)  I just don't like the outdoors people. I don't. Everyone is different and I'm not a outdoorsy girl............

Remember flair on Facebook?  That was a good time.....  ;-)  Anyway,  a friend of mine once sent me flair that read "I like the outdoors - I like drinking on a patio!"  That is so me.  :-) She knew me really well.  And, I will say this..... that is one of my very favorite things to do... enjoy a drink or a meal outside on the sidewalk of a busy town.  Nothing better than that.

I'm just a city girl at heart....... I am made for pavement... and stores... and restaurants..... not really so much the grass or snow... or where I live at all.  Isn't that a contradiction!  :-))))))  But, you grow where you are planted and I make the best of what's around (thanks Dave!)

Still... I would enjoy some warmth..... I could really grow better with some sun.  ;-)

Planning Mode....

Whew... I am in full-on planning mode!  I get like this from time to time... it is usally spurred by something I have planned and then, I just want to keep going... planning, planning, planning for the future!  I enjoy it.  Love it. I firmly believe if you don't plan life, it will plan you... and you won't be in control.  :-)

So, it all started when we booked our cottage in North Carolina for a family vacation! The entire family, us, Scott's parents and all his siblings and their families.  Eight adults.  Seven kids.  Party.  :-) We are once again going to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.... staying in a cottage called Native Sun in Buxton. It is no small feat to get eight adults to agree to a cottage, a price, a date and a location... so I am glad we were able to get it done.  You have to book these things pretty far in advance these days... and you might think it's pretty early, but in all reality, it's really quite late!!! So, I think we got a great cottage... and will be going July 9, for a week!

So, then, I move on to looking at flights and rental cars... and all that. Which leads me to think about Spring Break... and how I really want to take Ally someplace warm for break.  Scott is unlikely to be able to travel that week, so I thought a Mommy/Daughter vacation would be a great time!!  The key is WARM. Sun.  Pool.  :-)  Even if it were just a portion of the week, it would be worth it............ so I am off and running on that task, trying to figure out what we could swing.

Scott's birthday is next weekend, so I have planned an evening out for us... but can't dicuss the details, cuz I'm keeping it a surprise for him.  :-) 

Then, I got to thinking some more..... I could REALLY REALLY use a girls weekend!  Totally....... some girlie time away.  A spa would be divine... but anything would do.  Finding time among my girls with kids and jobs and lives is so hard though.......... but we really should try...........

Then, there's our annual trip to NYC with some girlfriends that we are trying to fit in somehow, someway this spring........

I know, I know... can't do it all. But, damned if I'm not gonna try!  :-)  Life was made to LIVE after all.  And I am itching to GO somewhere.......... anywhere.  Must be the Michigan winter blues are getting to me!  Post holiday funk........... I just enjoy having things to look forward to.  I like having a plan. Always.  Something on the horizon.

It's how I'm built.  :-)

New Car Saga...

So... you all heard about how we decided not to buy four new tires and we got a new car instead!?  Yeah.... we did!!!  I was pretty excited about it.  We had already decided that our next car would have a third row so I could cart more kids around - particularly in Ally's case!  I thought we were going to have to wait until this summer when our lease was up... but Scott took care of that and got us out of a car that needed four new tires, and into a brand new car (with four very good tires mind you!).  Having a hubby who is good with numbers is such a good thing.  :-)

So, enter my brand new, loaded to the hilt, GMC Acadia!!!

I was more excited about this car than I have been about a car in a long, long time..... it had everything I wanted and a whole lot more.  It was black (have wanted a black car for the last two leases)... interior black leather... heated seats... power everything... remote start... ipod compatible.... bluetooth... it tells me when my tires are low and which one (no more tire blow outs!)... the list goes on. Plus, I could now take six little girls anywhere.  :-))))))  We got the pilot seats in the second row so you don't have to fold down that row to get to the third.  Super easy!

We get it... and it comes with OnStar (which we will totally pay for when the free period is up - it rocks)... which allows us to start it and lock it and do all sorts of stuff with it (check gas levels, etc) with our iPhone. We were silly excited when we played with this feature. We are total techno geeks.  :-)

So exciting.  We were just excited..........

So, when Cousins' Night came around... we were happy to be able to drive our new car and pick everyone up and minimize the number of drivers for our big bar night out.

Scott, my brother-in-law, Daryl and I all left our house together to go into Jackson and pick up the crew....

Driving down M60... chatting... excited for the night that lay ahead......BAM.... out of no where, a freakin' huge ass deer runs right into the side of my brand new car!!!!! WTF??? Seriously????

Obviously it was one tough deer cuz it hit us going 62 mph and just kept on running........ when we stopped to survey the damage, we were actually surprised to see how little damage was actually done.  But, still........ my car that was no older than 48 hours.... was going to the body shop.

I still love my car.... a bump here and there does not take away from how great it is!  :-) I am still really excited and in a few days, she will be as good as new..... and I've gotten my first little mess out of the way.... now I won't be afraid to spill in it.  :-)))))))))))

Christmas Day 2010!

What a wonderful Christmas Day we had!!!!  It all started out with a visit from Santa:

Ally left the cutest note.  It read: "Dear Santa, Merry Christmas.  Say hi to the reindeer for me. I believe in you.  Ally"

The kids couldn't wait to get up.... I was amazed Ally fell asleep as well as she did.  It was probably 10 or 11, but still.... I remember not being able to sleep Christmas Eve.  Waking every hour. Wondering when I could finally get up!!!!!!

They slept until 8 am... and I went to make sure Maggie was up... but there was no holding them back... they couldn't wait for Maggie to get upstairs... so off they went....

It was whirlwind morning... but wonderful.... my mom and step-dad and in-laws came for breakfast... we had a nice morning in gift craziness... lots of happiness to go around.... Ally was most excited to receive Kit (An American  Girl Doll) and a new scooter since her old run may have been run over in the driveway.  :-)  Luke seemed most excited about his new scooter and a little people rampway he received... but has taken turns really playing with all the toys he received.

After some time at home... we made our way to my Grandma's house for Christmas dinner and LOTS of family togetherness. This much family:

It was the first time in many years that EVERYONE was there... all the cousins from all over the country... aunts, uncles, my mom and step-dad. EVERYONE!!!!!!  We enjoyed a wonderful traditional polish meal... the sharing of "the polish martini" AKA: whisky and squirt!  And... had an all-around great day........ a very Merry Christmas to all......