I'm bored

Please understand. Not bored in the "I have nothing to do" way. But bored in the my life is BORING way. I work, I go to the gym (when I can spare a moment), and I'm home with the kids. I don't go anywhere, can't really remember when the last time I went out with friends. Last time Chris and I went out it was May. Seriously MAY!!!!! Really, I have no idea, or a plan for what to do about it. It's awkward and uncomfortable to ask anyone to babysit, they all work for me. I takes my parents and hour to get here to babysit, and then the whole time I spend looking at the time because I feel guilty for them driving home so late.

I HATE Chris's work schedule. Tuesday through Saturday 10-9. He doesn't get home until 9:30. Fridays, gone. Saturday's gone. Plus he's gone all day Saturday so the kids and I are home alone. Then I feel like I can't go anywhere when he is home or we are two ships passing in the night and never get to talk. As it is now, I leave for work at 8am and he doesn't get home most nights until I'm asleep, because he goes to the gym, or goes out with friends from work. We see each other approximately 10-15 minutes a day.

I'm sad, I miss my friends. So many things I like about living here, but moving when I was pregnant in the middle of winter, I never got to know anyone, and when would I go anywhere and meet people.

sigh....

"MOM"

Oh how I loved when my kids learned to say my name. For us, Momma wasn't the first word or even the 3rd or 4th. Dada was at least word 2 or 3. And for a very long time it settled into Chris as "Daddy" and I as "Momma" I wasn't mad at that. Momma is sweet, and something I can't remember ever calling my mom, so it felt new, and my own.

Nathan still calls me Momma, and I love it as much as the first time he said it. He doesn't whine it, he only calls me when he needs me, and sometimes he uses it in a sentence with I love you and my heart aches.

However, last weekend Marisa started calling me "Mom" noooowwwwwww you may be thinking, big deal, it's still precious. NOT when she says it. I give her a snack and a drink and begin my trek back to the kitchen for Nates when I hear "Mom?"
"Yes, Marisa" I call back.
"Where are you?"
"Right here" I answer
"Why?"
Oh my, and it goes on. Mom is said in our house about 50 times an hour. I think now that it's a shorter word, she says it more. I really can't be out of her sight for 2 seconds before she is calling me, and she sort of sounds like a parrot. Mom, mom, mom, mom.

Plus, and most important, "Mom" makes me feel old.

In favor of naked time and gratuitous praise

Today, while spending his quality time with a book on the toilet, Nathan called out to me....

"Momma!"

"yes Nate"

"I love you" he said

Wow, I thought, where did that come from? "I love you too" I yelled back.

"You're my best friend" he yelled back at me. "I like it when you play planes with me. Oh, and Momma.... You Rock Dude!"

Aww Nate.

So I walked over to the bathroom, and said in my sweetest voice.... "I love you too buddy, you are my best friend too and I think YOU rock."

He was quiet for a second and said. "Momma, will you wipe my butt?"

and back to reality.

Mosquitos are really good at their job!

One night, while trying to relax (on the only night Chris reads stories to Nate-Monday) Nate came in the room to show me his mosquito bites that he got during water play at school.

"Wow, mosquitos are really good at their jobs!" he said. And when I think about it, he's really right! Mosquitos don't really have a lot to do, they aren't a part of that birds and bees equation, aren't needed for pollination, all they are is food for spiders and the only job they have is to bite people so they can get bigger and live longer, hence a bigger meal for a spider.


It's amazing how incredibly insightful a 4 year old can be, if you actually listen to what he is saying (which sometimes, I am guilty of really not listening).


Last night on our way home from visiting Nana and Papa at the lake, I glanced in the back seat to notice that Nate was NAKED except his pants. He had taken off his shirt, socks and shoes and was sitting there just like normal with no shirt on. Nate, I asked. "why are not wearing your shirt?"

"Because I wanted to" he said. Ok, makes sense to me, why didn't I think of that? (This is also the reason he is currently running around the house with no pants on).

This morning I reminded Nate that he would be going to a new classroom at school tomorrow, and that it might make him sad at first, but that he will really like playing with his new teachers and learning new things.

He said, "Don't worry Mama, I won't be sad, I will be happy about my new class. I have to do new things because I keep getting bigger" and again, he's right. Bigger= Older in his world. Like when we went to the park the other day and another child called Marisa a baby. Big Brother Nate got all up in his face and said... "She's NOT a BABY, she's a BIG GURL!" Which once again he's right, Marisa is certainly a BIG girl now. Or at least she thinks she is.

Marisa, the baby book entry

Marisa does the cutest most amazing things. She loves to read and will easily remember phrases, and words in books after only reading them one time. She reads to anyone around and likes to hold the book like "the teacher" Can you tell she is reading a book about Curious George? Every other word is "George"

Those are the cute times... then there are the not so memorable moments. Like this one.

This one is definitely for the baby book.

They grow up so fast

People say that all the time, but I'm starting to notice it so much. When you do the same activity (like go to the toledo zoo) year after year, you can see the changes. We had a blast! We got there just as it was elephant bath time. Nate was worried that the elephants would be loud.

Marisa was in love with the penguins. She could have watched them all day, if Nate hadn't been yelling at us to get moving.

W also really enjoyed the tigers.

The toledo zoo is such an awesome place for young kids, they even have an entire kids zoo area complete with face masks. This one has a blankie just like Nate.

We did get lost a few times, of course look who was navigating!

Nate actually posed for a photo on the same tiger he did 3 years ago when we were trying to do as much with him as possible, for we had just found out he was going to be a big brother (Notice I'm already wearing a maternity shirt 5 days after I found out) He has changed so much!

Ugh... why do I sign up for these?

So I did it. Ran the first 5K in 37 minutes. Definitely not a stellar performance as I got a side stitch and did this kind of spastic run hop the whole rest of the way. Not to mention someone who ran with me thought it would be funny to slap me on the butt when she ran by. Duh...what was that Newtons Law thing... about momentum? Anyway she hit me so hard my Ipod skipped a song. Then I ran with what felt like a hand print on my butt pushing me the rest of the way.

So why Per Se did I decide to sign up for another one this weekend? Because I'm a glutton for punishment. And running these (subsequently training for them) is keeping me in great shape. So here I am 3 days before the next one thinking... why? Plus it's hotter outside, although it will be at 9am. UGH... whine, complain, whine, complain. Here are some photos from the last race...

My cheering section

Marisa holding my sign. Now it's in my garage, I feel so motivated when I pull in the driveway.

If you look hard you can see me coming down the road, I'm wearing a purple shirt.

And here I am running past my cheering section. It was actually chilly that morning.

So be thinking of me Sunday morning while you all relax, I've decided to torture myself once again. The Gallup Gallop, here I come!

Training Log Day One

Ok so I signed up for the Dexter Ann Arbor run. http://www.dexterannarborrun.com/ This is a 5K. I totally know I can do it, if I could just find time to train for it. Lately with how crazy work has been it's been beyond difficult to get to the gym. But seriously why is it harder to run outside than it is to run on a treadmill?

So my time on a treadmill is 35 minutes for the whole thing. Outside... more like 45. I really want to come in around 25 minutes. That is my goal. So today I have to wait until the kids are asleep and run on the treadmill. I'll update with my time.

OK Janna... been wanting to do this for awhile... Here it is

Friday Favorites...

1. GREAT WOLF LODGE!

Here's to family togetherness. We actually have far too little. This was the most amazing way to spend three days together. The kids had a blast and so did we. I couldn't believe how brave they were (or how bad my photos turned out). Will definitely do next year. 2. Nate's photo taking ability. I went to put the photos from our digital cameras on the computer this week and discovered that Nate has been photographing everything.... even the view up his nose. But along with that, his now cheesy smile and letting me take his picture, how great is that!

4. Again with Nate... Going pee standing up!!!! I don't think many people know what a huge accomplishment this actually is. I'm so proud of him, all we had to do was bribe with a few jelly beans. Yuck jelly beans.

5. Marisa. That child is seriously a bundle of energy right now. If she's going somewhere she is running, and not even running kind of a dance run. Hard to explain. She DOES remind me of me. She is passionate about everything. She is passionate that she wants JUICE instead of MILK. Passionate about wanting to be held, passionate about standing on the table. Ahh she does wear me down, but her smile and her imagination are so amazing I want to smooch her all day long. Wait until she sees the outdoor playhouse Mommy scored for FREE for her birthday present!

Lifetime Fitness. I'm in love with my gym. I'm so comfortable there. I'm so excited about the way my body, stamina, and energy have progressed. And thankful to my family for allowing me the time to go every morning. I'm really lucky.

Well there you have it. My first Friday Favorites.

How long do I leave her there?

Ok.... I need some Mommy help. Once I let my children "cry it out" (scream endlessly for 3+ hours 4 nights in a row) we've not had many sleeping issues. Ok, Ok, Chris did sleep on the floor of Nate's room for 3 months straight, until I finally said enough is enough. But really, what do I do about Marisa right now.

We put her down to nap at 1:30. Now I do realize that it's possible that the time change is messing her all up. BUT she's been in her room playing in her crib for an hour and a half now. She's fine, not sad or angry. But Nate will soon wake up from his nap, and she hasn't even fallen asleep. Do I leave her in there? Or go get her and risk that a not yet 2 year old doesn't take a nap today, the thought makes my stomach upset. Or, worse than all that she falls asleep at like 3:30 and wants to sleep until 6. Ahhhh what to do!

Believe it or not, that's Nate sleeping in there.

big like daddy

Sometimes Nate says the cutest things. I feel like I miss some of them, he's not the most talkative child. (Except when he needs me!)

Today after lunch we were sitting and had on CMT. Marisa was reading books in my lap. Nate was having goldfish and pink lemonade.

"Momma, I want to be big." he said

Me: "I like you the size you are, we have a lot of things to do before you get big."

Nate: "Like go to school, and eat healthy foods?"

Me: "Well yeah, that stuff, but we have a lot of memories to make before you get big."

Nate: "What is a Memoly?"

Me: "Things we do together, places we go, so we can remember and look back about it later"

Nate: "We have a lot of pictures to take before I get bigger."

Me: "Yes exactly"

Nate: "Well, I want to be big like Daddy, so I have to eat healthy food and sleep a lot, but don't worry Momma, I'll eat slow."

:-) awww...

Nate Almost 2 years old and Now (3.5 years)

Hand Washing Tutorial by Marisa

Hand Washing Toddler Style

First you use some soap and wait for it to magically come out of the bottle onto your hand.
Giving up on soap, you touch just the fingertips (of course the DIRTIEST part of your hand) under the water.

Then you knock the soap over into the sink and yell at Mommy to pick it up for you. And Repeat!

Food Obsessed

Groceries... really... that should be a sentence all by itself. Here I'll say it again... Groceries. I can't believe I spent $250 at the grocery store. I'm trying to be all healthy and cheap at the same time. It really doesn't go together. Because the only thing that is cheap at our grocery store are Hungry Man dinners. Gross Gross Gross. No thanks. Plus the fact that my kids refuse to eat anything but name brand of their favorite goodies. Nathan actually knows when I replace his beloved Cheeze-its with Cheese Nips. Marisa will throw her cup of juice on the ground if it's not Juicy Juice.

Plus I'm pretty sure that the kids ate $25 of the groceries I purchased when they got home from school today.

Nate: 2 bananas, 1 apple, half of the watermelon that I cut up and put in the fridge. 1 pork chop, 6 baby carrots, and I caught him sneaking a cereal bar that I made him put back.

Marisa 1 banana, 1 apple, 4 baby carrots, 1 cup of pirate booty, sliced mushrooms, 2 glasses of milk, one glass of juice and 1/2 a pork chop.

Yes, I was using Pirate Booty as the "grain" during dinner.

It's as though my children actually know when food is "fresh"... I had to tell Nate he couldn't have 3 bananas tonight. Now my fruit bowl looks naked... sigh. Well we had a full fridge for about an hour. It's no wonder my kids are so big!

NATE AND MOMMY'S DAY OUT!

This week I was on "vacation" (taking time off work to eat up my vacation time before my year rolls). On Friday I planned a special day for just Nate and I. Usually when I'm home, Marisa is attached to me somehow, somewhere, and I get very little time for just him. So our day was supposed to go something like this....

Wake up and have breakfast...Daddy takes Risa to school.... Nate and Mommy get ready and go to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum http://www.aahom.org/ ... go get some lunch... take a nap (for both of us :-) then make some cupcakes... go get Nate's haircut... pick up Marisa.

I know a hefty list of things for one small day.

Here's how it actually went.

Daddy and Marisa leave a little late, which makes getting ready a little late for us. Nate is unbelievably agreeable today. (Really odd) so he is in the garage before I can even get my shoes on. Once we get in the car we are on our way. Of course once we start to leave the real Nate shows up in my backseat. First he doesn't like the direction we are driving out of the neighborhood. Then he yells at me for how loud my car is during acceleration onto busy Geddes. Then he really hates that we have to wait at a red light, because "red is not his favorite color, he doesn't love it." Once we get downtown, he continues to ask me every time I turn onto a new street, why we are on this street? and my favorite? "Why are we going this way?

Then we get to the parking ramp, park the car and get out. Let the meltdown begin. Totally chaos over leaving the car. "why can't we take our car with us?" "Why do we have to leave our car here?" Now this is NOT the first time we have parked in a parking lot, although you'd think it is, nor is it the first time in a parking ramp. 1/8 of the walk to the museum from the parking ramp and I hear sobbing coming from the child clutching my hand.
"Nate, what is wrong? Why are you sad?"
"It's too cold, I want to go home!"

So I picked him up and walked the 1/2 mile carrying a 50lb child, while we were passed by every toddler walking with her mommy. Chanting over and over in my head... "he WILL have a good time, this is totally worth it".

When we finally got there, all we had to do was walk down the musical steps and he was in 3 year old heaven. Here are photos of some of his favorite activities.

Driving the Ambulance

Making a giant bubble!

Rock Climbing

Water Table

Then, nap time came. After 5 minutes in his room he came out and said, "I sleeped... I'm all done!" Ummm no. After nap and with no time to bake cupcakes we headed off to get his haircut. Now if you know my child, we haven't had the greatest experiences with ummmm anything. Haircutting is actually the worst (because it happens so often) my sweet, loving, somewhat agreeable child turns into demon child. I seriously expect his head to spin around. He started crying (and chanting) about a mile away. The chant went like this. "I don't want to get my haircut, you are not my best friend!, I'm sad at you momma! (repeat cycle)" He almost walked in the building all by himself. Side note... This is a children's haircut place the inside looks like an arcade, there is a TV at every station, and he gets to pick his DVD. There is a huge slide and when he's done he gets a sucker and a balloon.

But no.

As I dragged him through the open door, (the chant continued) and tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal that my 3 1/2 year old child was sobbing hysterically. I hung my coat up, went over and wrestled his coat off him. Other mommy's looked at me not even sympathetically, more like pathetically. I'm sure thinking, I somehow could control this. (This is the child that has to wear a straight-jacket at the dentist-seriously!) I had to hold him on my lap through the entire ordeal, literally restraining him, and he's so much stronger than he used to be! Of course Alicia who cuts his hair, never remembers this demon child, and tells me every time, he wasn't like this last time... OH YES HE WAS, although he's bigger, and stronger now, I tipped her half the cost of the cut and ran out of there. I'm starting to think that 70's hippie hair look, might work for Nate.

When all is said and done, we really did have a great day. Moments with him young and so loving are dwindling I know, I must take all I can get now.

10 degrees and we are doing WHAT?

Ahhh the Plymouth ice festival.

After we got home I couldn't help but wonder... was it worth it?

As soon as the kids got up from nap, we dressed them in all their snow gear, kicking and screaming the entire time. Head to toe in cushiony water repellent fabric. Marisa crying the entire time. Nate telling us he didn't want to go ANYWHERE! Halfway through getting him dressed, brilliant me remembered that he hadn't gone pee. Which completely threw my husband off the deep end. Calling the whole thing a stupid idea, throwing boots around... to which my daughter just started laughing. I think it's actually quite hilarious when one of my kids laughs at Chris's hissy fits. It makes me smile, because I grew up experiencing those, and it's important to actually have perspective on how ridiculous it is for a grown adult to throw a fit. (Love you sweetie!)

Anyway, parked far away, huge crowd, freezing temps. Nate didn't even look at a thing, just looked like Nanook of the North the whole time. Marisa had a great time. She tried to run ahead, talked to everyone, but unfortunately kept taking off her gloves. This little act made our trip very short. One hour after we got out of the car, we were back in. Although we did manage to purchase a bag of cotton candy. Although we didn't do much of anything when we were there, but walk in a big circle and look at ice. I still felt victorious that we had made a trip out of the house in the winter. Truly a rarity for us. I was however really disappointed that the children didn't get much out of it.

UNTIL that night when Nate wanted to call his grandma. "Grandma! He said. Today I got cotton candy, and saw a dinosaur, and a castle and a BIG BEAR all made out of ice!"

Huh, he doesn't even know, he made my victory seem that much sweeter!

The missing Pony

A couple of Mondays ago I worked from home (took care of the kids and answered the phone) from 10-11 I have to do my reports. I set up the kid table. Gave Nathan a project (cutting lines on paper) and Marisa a new set of chunky crayons and a glue stick. They did their work, I did mine. After we had finished (and Elmo was singing his last song) I said, "you were both so quiet-(should have been my first clue)- and let Mommy work, would you like a popsicle now?" I picked up Marisa and noticed. instead of her pig-tail there was a nub. So I turned her phew the other one was still there. "Marisa! Where is your piggie?"

"Nay-Nate" was all she said.

I said... "NNNNNAAAATTTHHHHAAANNNN, (very controlled low-talking-but-yelling) where is Marisa's pig tail?"

Calmly he pointed to the ground... "Right there"

And there it was.... my daughters once perfect little curl, feathered all over the floor.

*Sigh* Nate what did you do?

"Risa did it" was his answer.

*Sigh*

So three hours later we are at the hair cutting place for an unscheduled trim of the mullet. No more party in the back.... it's business all over now.

Max aka "Pig Pen"

I really can't believe how disgusting my dog is. I think he's seriously about as disgusting as he is lazy. The two really go hand in hand. I used to have this roomate. He smelled. Like BAD. I seriously don't really remember him ever washing his clothes, and I think he took very few showers. Hence the lazy + disgusting group fit. Max is one of those. Even if dogs could shower he wouldn't. He would lay around all day long stinking up the joint. Occasionally bothering himself enough to lift his leg, lick his doggy parts or actually do the "Max Olympics" and completely turn his head all the way to his backside to sniff it. Today was definitely the cake topper. I open the back door to let him in and notice that three feet from the door is a pile of poop... ON THE DECK. Are you kidding me? It's bad enough that we've gotten so much snow this year that he continuously pees on the deck, but it wasn't even snowing! And Chris shoveled him a path. When I yelled at him "Max... did you seriously POOP on the deck???" (Like somebody else might have???) He gave me the doggy version of the middle finger... The LOOOONG stare. Now I love this dog, he's sweet (even to babies that pull his ears) and very loving. But today, he stinks. In fact I'm one room away from him, and I can smell the gas from here.... ooooo Max.

Yes, I'll have...

Probably the MOST embarrassing thing I've done in a LOOOONNNGGG while happened last Tuesday during my weekly division conference call.

Some back-story. I got a new GPS for Christmas, I do love it. I just haven't figured out all the functions, and perhaps the most annoying function (which I thought I'd love) is the blue tooth capability. I can't enter my car (if it's plugged in) without the blue tooth picking up my phone. Really annoying when I'm in the middle of a call. This particular day I though it was nice that my conference call would be on speaker and easier for me to drive.

Per usual I went to Starbucks on my way into the office. When I got there I muted my phone, and my GPS. How strange all of a sudden I couldn't hear anyone. So I unpushed mute. Ahhh they were still there. So I re-muted, quiet again. Now thinking that mute meant mute I went ahead and ordered my triple shot grande vanilla latte. Even spoke to the woman about combining my gift cards.

After I got my drink, I un-muted my conference call and they were going on about marketing plans and blah blah blah. Now much happier, I kept driving to work.

At the end of our call every week the boss asks us if we have anything we'd like to share with the group. When she got to me she asked.... "Amber, how is your triple shot grande vanilla latte"
Holy CRAP! Apparently not only had they heard the whole conversation, they had been laughing at me the whole time, but of course I couldn't hear them as MUTE on my GPS means you hear me, I can't hear you...

The huh.. whatdidyousay... and ehhh?

Ok I've decided I definitely live in the house of the deaf. It's so ridiculous, since Chris got a cold, his ears have been so plugged. Not that it wasn't bad before, it's terrible now. Half the time I know he didn't hear me, so he just half smiles when I talk. Other times it's like this conversation like we are 90 and trying to communicate through our hearing aids. Like take today for example. A simple, should I answer this call coming through caller ID took on a totally different tone. As I'm on the phone with my sister a call came through....

Me: Hey do you know Sue Fleuren (I pronounced it Flure-en)
Husband: What? (my absolute favorite of the I-can't-hear-yous)
Me: Do you know a Sue Fleuren. She's calling right now?
Husband: Who's calling who?
Me: Caller Id is going off and it SAYS Sue Flueren.
Husband: I don't know a Sue Flueren (by now the beeping has stopped)
Me: Well it's too late anyway.
Husband: It's not too late, you could look at the phone to figure out who it is.
Me: No, it's too late to answer it, they hung up
Husband: Who hung up? Your sister?
Me: No Sue Fleuren.
Husband: I don't know a Sue Fleuren, I know a Joe Fleuren (he pronounced it Flu-ren).
Me: Well I think he was trying to call you.
Husband: He must have been trying to call me at home.

OH MY GAWWWWDDDD!!!!
By this time my sister is yelling in the background....
So freaking annoying. Now Marisa has started to say it as a way to answer a question....
Marisa do you want more ketchup? Huh? -She answers.

Ugh, no wonder I like going to work, people listen to me there.

My new favorite quote

I had to write down my old favorite quote for 2008 on my previous post. I do believe I quoted my son's "Pinkalicious" book when I said... "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit" also something the 4 year olds used to say when I was a preschool teacher. I think that really fits in with the belief that you should enjoy what you have and not always want want want.

Now today I remembered a quote told to me by a peer at work. She said it about someone else, but I find myself repeating it to myself to keep my own mouth shut. Ready? Ok, enough suspense here it is....

"Know your role and shut your hole."

Seriously, the world is full of too many people who think everyone should be interested in what they have to say. I believe that is why we have outlets such as Blogger, Facebook, MySpace (which is really not any fun anymore). Once I had this new quote in my mind all day I constantly found people violating it!

The server at the restaurant that speculated why her customer's credit card was declined, loud enough for us to hear 3 tables over.

The teacher at the school I was at today trying to tell ME how to arrange a classroom... as if!

Me when I got irritated at said teacher who doesn't work for me but for my peer.

The salesperson at a clothing store that gave my co-worker unsolicited advice about how a shirt would look better if only her bra gave her more cleavage. Seriously!

Nathan (age 3) when he tried to tell me how to drive home.

And then when I read Marisa's daily sheet from child care that said she "was a big helper today, she tried to get all her friends to come to the table when it was lunch time and she encouraged them to clean up" NOW my daughter doesn't encourage anyone to do anything she grabs your shirt, pushes and pulls... she is 20 months of course, encouraging isn't urgent enough.

I like that quote. And then my one that I found today that I will use at work with my team....
"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got."
Ahh quotes, one of my favorite pastimes, if you have any good ones, leadership quotes are my fav... pass them on.

It's actually a very fun game if you are feeling cynical, try it and I think you will agree.

What I will remember and not miss about 2008.

I've decided to inlude a few snapshots of the worst moments and best of 2008...

Worst Moments....


Nate's teeth being knocked out by "The sensory table" 5 dentist appointments later, including the one with the straight jacket when he was yelling... "Momma, SAVE ME" wow, not a great mommy moment.

Ahh My Hero. Jake. Jake and I fell in love in May of 1997 and we were together ever since. Through boyfriends, and new husband. New locations and puppies. He even gracefully tolerated the babies. He was the most wonderful and amazing dog. I was so lucky he chose us to be his family. It still makes me tear up.




Great Moments....


Marisa walking!

Ahhh Alone time with Chris!

Me Then... January 2008...

Me now November 2008, I know it's hard to see, but 30 pounds lighter!

There are more of course, but these are definitely the highlights.

Helloooo 2009

Ok, because I'm supposed to be working out while the kids sleep... I'll do this instead.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Actually spent most of the year enjoying my children. Lost all my baby weight and then some. Took a Mommy and Daddy only vacation, turned 34!!!!

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I never make any resolutions, I'd never keep them anyway, but if I would have I'm sure it would have been to lose weight.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, I had a couple friends have babies last year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, Jake. Sniff.

5. What countries did you visit?
Countries? HA! I did go to New Orleans LA and Florida this year, that's the extent of my traveling

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
More financial stability. Wouldn't everyone? Greater clarity into how to continue successfully with a new team at my job.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
June 12th 2008. When one of my employees made a huge mistake and it became a downward spiral for me in '08 September 21st 2008, we had to put Jake to sleep. May 14th Nate broke his teeth.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
My two beautiful children

9. What was your biggest failure?
Read the above about work.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Typical illnesses, that's about it.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My favorite pair of black pants, OH and my treadmill. Lot's of new bras and underwear from use on my treadmill... bye bye old maternity granny panties.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My kids, my husband, Max recovering into single dogdum.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Read above about employee... and then 2 other employees after her.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Food, clothes for kids and HOLY CRAP Marisa uses a lot of diapers!!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
President Elect Obama. Nathan had a great birthday party. My vacation with Chris, my kids.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
I'm Yours by Jason Mraz, Sorry by Buckcherry.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) About the same, or leaning toward sadder...
b) thinner or fatter? thinner- THINNER!!!
c) richer or poorer? POORER BOO!
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercise!
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
working
20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Yes, sustained the marriage love, grew into deeper love with both kids.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
How I met your mother, Rock of Love (say it loud and proud!) House Hunters, Kitchen Nightmares.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.
24. What was the best book you read?
Book? HA! I read only one book. The Jon and Kate plus 8 book... so I guess that one.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Jason Mraz, although I knew of him before, fell in love this year.

26. What did you want and get?
A new office with a door and window! A new car. A new phone. A new computer. Thank you work!

27. What did you want and not get?
Another year with Jake.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Knocked up. I know... very shallow, I hope that was this year :-)

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went to lunch with Janna and my mom (day after)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If the stupid things at work had not happened, Nate hadn't broken his teeth (5 dentist appts later).

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Dressy and jewlery!
32. What kept you sane?
Wine, good employees, reality tv.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
None.
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Easy, Universal Preschool, Quality Rating System for Childcare.

35. Who did you miss?
Jason and Jake.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Definitely Kyra at work.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
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