Playing Outside - 90/365

It was a gorgeous day today! 

We could all finally be outside without freezing our asses off and we didn't have to bundle up! It was awesome! 

When Jim got home from work, we went for a walk around the neighborhood, then spent some time out back with Reagan on the swing set. She was loving be back out there! 

As we were playing, Ron, Rachel, Sadie and the kids, were strolling by and popped over for a visit. Parker and Reagan had a blast going round an round on the slide. The dogs had fun running all around, too! It was a fun little impromptu porch party! Can't wait for summer! 

The photo of the day is Reagan, Parker, Brinkley and Sadie playing in the yard!

Lion in the Laundry - 89/365

Today, Jim spent the day at the last day of the pancake festival. 

He said they were absolutely slammed, which was awesome! 

Reagan and I, went to the store and hung around the house. She's starting to get a bit of a sniffle, so I hope she's not getting sick. We just played and I did a little cleaning and laundry. 

I had a load of whites, that beeped, but I didn't feel like taking upstairs right away. I folded them on the kitchen island, then put the basket at the bottom of the stairs. This afternoon, Jim went around the corner and found Brandy sleeping in our fresh laundry. We didn't have the heart to kick her out. I bet she was in there for three hours. It was so funny! 

The photo of the day is Brandy in the laundry.

  

Paper Cutting and Rotary Meeting - 89/365

Today, Jim was off to another Rotary meeting in Canton. 

He had to leave around 6:30 this morning, so he was pooped. It was a quick meeting, so he was happy. He was home around noon, which is WAY earlier than he thought he'd be. 

Reagan was still at my mom's for most of the morning, so I just plugged away on my never ending photobook project. 

This evening, Jim, Reagan and I spent some time doing art projects. Reagan loves to sit and glue things. We cut up a ton of paper and she was just making cool mosaic art. She actually started to perfect her paper cutting skills, too! She had used scissors at some of her classes, but didn't have a pair of her own. I ran over to the Dollar Store, right by the house, and got her a pair. She sat for at least an hour just cutting stuff. It was so cute! 

On a different note, it is almost April and we were actually under a Winter Weather Advisory tonight. We're expecting 1-3 inches. WHAT!? Spring where are you!? 

The photo of the day is Reagan cutting her paper.

Next, the weather advisory. 

 

Phantoms Game - 87/365

Today, Reagan was going to spend the day and night at Nana and Papa's! I was going to do some chores and spend a little more time on the photobook. They had a great day! They played egg hunt, games and watched Frozen, of course! LOL! They had a blast! 

This evening, Jim, Greg, Nikki and I were heading down to the Covelli Center to watch the Phantoms game. We always try to take in a game or two, but this year we hadn't made it down until tonight. 

It was funny because it was dog night. We felt bad we didn't bring Brinkley! LOL! 

The game itself was good, back and forth the whole time. They did end up losing 4-3. Oh well, we still had a great time! That's the way it goes for all the teams we like.

Jim and I went to have a few drinks at Warehouse 50 after the game. We were reminiscing about our BW3 days. We had fun! Even did a shot of cookie dough vodka because we were curious. LOL! 

The photo of the day is all of us at the game!

Next, is Mr. Fuzzy and Puppy playing cupcakes with Nana and Reagan. 

 

OH WOW & Booking Party - 86/365

This morning, Reagan and I went down to OHWow for a little morning fun! 

We were meeting Deanna, Violet and baby Mike. 

Deanna and I both struggled to find a parking spot, so we were both late. LOL! 

 The girls had a great time running around. I think their favorite was the air tubes with the balls and scarfs. They also spent a lot of time at the paper airplane station. We had a great time and it was fun catching up!

This evening, we were meeting, Nana, Papa, Ron, Rachel, Sharon, Ron, Laura and the kids at Tippy to celebrate booking our next Disney cruise. Last time, we had a party to actually book the trip. Well this time, we ended up being able to put a hold on rooms and it went so fast getting it booked, that we never got to have a party. Therefore, we decided to have a "let's celebrate we're booked party!" 

We booked a seven day on the Disney Fantasy to the Eastern Caribbean. We couldn't be more excited! We don't want to wish the summer away, but is it January yet!? 

We had a great evening reminiscing about the past cruise and looking forward to the next one! 

The kids loved dancing in the empty ballroom, too! 

The photo of the day is all of us at the "Celebration of Booking Party!"

Next, Reagan and Violet playing at the earthquake table.

  

Greg's Birthday Dinner - 85/365

We started our day at Gymnastics! 

Reagan did so great! She asked for help on the big ladder the first time she went on it. The next time around, she climbed right up and over! The teacher was so proud of her that she let Reagan run over and ring the "good job" bell! Reagan was so pumped and talked about it the rest of the day. 

This evening we went to have dinner with Jim's mom and dad to celebrate Greg's birthday! We went over to the Phoenix, we all love it there. We all ate too much, but had a great time chatting! Reagan even sang Happy Birthday to Papa Greg. He loved it! 

 Happy Birthday, Papa Greg!

The photo of the day is Greg, Jim and Reagan after dinner...

Reagan conquering the ladder....

 

Disney Photobook - 84/365

Today, Jim went off to work and his normal rotary meeting. 

I just hung around the house, did some chores and started our Disney Cruise photobook. I was so excited to get to work on it! Reagan spent the day over grandma's house. They played games and talked with Timmy. They even watched a little bit of Frozen! 

The photo of the day in a page out of the photobook!  

 

Sams Club - 83/365

Today, Nana, Reagan and I went to Sam's Club. 

Reagan wanted to ride in the big part of the buggy, so I said, as long as she stayed seated, I would let her. We were having fun piling stuff all around her in the buggy. She kept laying down like she was hiding, it was too funny! One time she did lay down, she started whining and crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I'm stuck!" Here, her necklace got stuck in between the bars and she couldn't sit back up! I had to free her from the underneath. We were howling! Poor Reagan, at least she didn't break it.

The photo of the day is Reagan stuck in the buggy.

 

Lego Day - 82/365

Today was a lazy day for Reagan and I, while Jim was out working the Boardman Rotary Pancake Festival. He said everything went great and they were super busy again, which is also a bonus for the club. They've been having a great year. 

Reagan and I just played legos ALL DAY! She wore her Elsa gown, we had Frozen on a loop and built all kinds of stuff. I think she has, no lie or exaggeration, seen Frozen 25-30 times. LOL! We had fun! 

The photo of the day is Reagan in her Elsa gown with her Legos.

 

Pancake Breakfast - 81/365

Today was Boardman Rotary's Annual Pancake Breakfast! 

Jim, of course, was out there working, but he got a lot of visitors! 

Nana, Papa, Raymond, Jennifer and I went out at 9:00 to enjoy some breakfast! They really are great pancakes, huge and fluffy! We got a kick out of the syrup squeeze bottle. It was HUGE! We had a nice time! 

Later this morning, Jim got some more visitors. Nikki, Greg, Mabel, Adrienne, Jake and the kids went out to enjoy some pancakes, too! Jim loved having everyone come out and support the rotary! 

Rotary does so many wonderful things for the community. They were really busy for the first day. He was happy. 

 The rest of the day, we just hung around the house and I made some homemade pizzas, which were OK. LOL! 

The photos of the day is Jim with all his visitors.

 

Time Out - 80/365

Reagan was in rare form today. She definitely did not have on her listening ears. 

Nana, Reagan and I were shopping in Yankee Candle this afternoon. Reagan loves to pick up the smallest jars and smell them when we are in there. She's really good about it and always puts them back label facing out and everything. Today, she kept grabbing the medium size ones. At one point, I noticed she had three in her arms. I told her, "Put two down, three is too many. You are going to drop those." I was met with some resistance and a bunch of "No's." I told her I was going to count to three and if she didn't put those down, we were leaving the store. Well, I got to three and she was still just standing there with the candles. I proceeded to walk toward her to take them off of her and to begin a time out outside the store. She then took off RUNNING through the tiny Yankee Candle store with all three medium size jars still in her arms. I couldn't chase her at full speed with my ankle, but she did eventually stop. After of course, she dropped a candle and it SHATTERED everywhere. Thankfully, she did not get cut, but we were all a pretty embarrassed. She burst into tears. We went outside and had a big talk, while Nana checked out. Reagan did go back in the store to apologize. It was pretty cute. The lady behind the counter was great and said that's OK, it happens. 

This evening, I was trying to make dinner and she kept crawling through my legs. After three times of telling her, "You are bumping my bad ankle and I'm trying to cook, please go play in the living room." She ended up in another time out. While she was in time out, she kept trying to read my magazines and crawl on the bottom of the sofa table. She earned an extra minute for not putting the magazines back and not listening about crawling on the table, too! She tested the limits today! Terrible THREE'S! LOL!

Here, she is looking pretty happy after her Yankee Candle disaster. I wish I would have thought to get a picture of the broken candle or her in time out. LOL! 

 

Workbook - 79/365

Nothing really going on today. 

I was putting Brinkley in my car to take him to the groomer today, and I noticed something pretty cool. Jim's car has been leaking a little fluid lately and he hasn't got it in to be checked yet. We put a box down on the garage floor to catch whatever it is, so it doesn't stain the garage floor. I happened to glance over and noticed the leak formed a Mickey head on a Mickey box, ironically! It was pretty cool! LOL! 

Later this evening, we were sitting around the table playing with a new workbook Reagan got today. She loves practicing her letters. She's getting really good, too! Hope these study habits go into school years! The photo of the day is Reagan working in her book.

Next, the cool "hidden" Mickey!

 

Jillian Michaels - 78/365

Today was Jillian Michaels Day! We LOVE the show the Biggest Loser and watch it faithfully!

We have been waiting for this since Christmas, actually since last year. 

She did a tour last year, but we couldn't go, because we were in Myrtle Beach. We loved being at the beach, but were pretty bummed we couldn't go. Well the tour last year was so successful, that she decided to do it again. This time hitting Pittsburgh! 

We got the tickets for Christmas and couldn't wait, since they were VIP and came with a meet and greet opportunity. Woohoo!

 The show was at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh. It was a beautiful building. 

The show itself was amazing! She is SO down to earth and so sweet. She pretty much tells it like it is, which is funny. She has a great sense of humor and really makes sense in everything she said. 

We just wanted to go to see her in person, but we really enjoyed hearing all the info she presented. You can tell she truly cares about helping people. She actually asked Jim a question in the middle of the show. She was talking about bad food and how it can obviously end your life early. She asked Jim how much money it would take to have him miss walking Reagan down the aisle. He replied, None. It was a pretty cool moment.

After the show, we were so excited to do the meet and greet. Waiting in line and hearing her interact with everyone put us at ease. She was joking and having fun with each and every person. She asked questions and really took time with everyone. 

When it was our turn, we told her how we had to miss Cleveland, so we were happy she came here. I told her about how I hear her in my head when I'm running and having a rough time. I told her I always play a line she said in the Biggest Loser to a contestant. She yelled, "Don't stop running until you puke, pass out or die." She laughed and made an embarrassed face. She took my hand, kept tapping it, just laughed and said, "It's true honey, you can do it." We talked about the Biggest Loser 1/2 marathon that I hope to run in June, if I can get this ankle stable soon. We really just had fun just chatting with her for a couple minutes. She is SO NICE and SO easy to talk to. You felt like you knew her forever! Such a fun night! 

While we were there, Reagan was spending the night with Nana and Papa. Reagan actually spent the whole day with Nana. They went to gymnastics and picked Dexter up from his hair appointment.

This evening, they had dinner at Tippy and Reagan got to see her friend, "The Linda!" They had a great time! The photo of the day is Jim and I with Jillian Michaels!

Next, Reagan and Dexter.

 

Cleaning Day - 77/365

Reagan was spending the day with Jim's mom today, while I worked on a photobook and attempted to get some cleaning done.
I haven't done much cleaning lately, by the time I chase Reagan around, my ankle is screaming to sit down. I rested it all morning, then this afternoon, I was able to get some stuff done! It felt good to have some things get back to shiny!
Reagan and grandma had a fun day playing at her house.
When Jim got home from work, he took Brinkley up to the trail since it was such a nice day.
While he was gone, I took Reagan outside and she got to play with some sidewalk chalk for a little bit. We had a terrible amount of leaves blow into the garage last week after a really windy day and they had been driving me crazy. Since it was nice and she was playing with chalk, I decided to try to get some of those up. I got the shop-vac out to get some grit up off the floor from all the salt our cars drop in there, too. Reagan became fascinated with the Shop-Vac. She wanted to sweep up everything! She was such a great helper! It was nice!
The photo of the day is Reagan and the Shop-Vac.  

 

St. Patrick's Day - 76/365

Today was St. Patrick's Day! 

We were going with an all green theme! Reagan started her day with some green milk before her doctors appointment. 

She was a little past her three year check-up, so we were doing that today. She checked out great! Doc said she's perfect! She grew three and a half inches and gained four pounds over the last year. She's a little above 50% for height and a little below at 50% for weight! YAY! 

She did end up having to get one shot. I talked to her about it before the nurse came in to do it. I told her she just has to be very brave. She took my advice to heart because, besides an "OUCH," she didn't cry at ALL! NO tears! I was so proud of her. I told her she would get an extra special treat for being brave. 

After we were done, we went to pick up Nana and hit the town. We did end up going to Menchies since she was so brave as her treat. She loved it! 

This evening, we were having Reuben sandwiches, along with green beer! For dessert we made homemade shamrock shakes! Everything was delicious! 

We were also so excited because our Frozen DVD showed up a day early from our pre-order from the Disney Store, so we watched Frozen this evening, too! Great day!

The photo of the day is our Reubens.

Next, our shamrock shakes.

Finally, Reagan and her green milk.

 

Lazy Day - 75/365

It was a lazy day today. 

With Jim having to be gone for two days and me hobbling around on my ankle. We all just wanted to hang out at home. Jim did take Brinkley for a walk to get him out of the house though. Brinkley enjoyed that. Most of the morning we spent researching our cruise for next year with Ron and Rachel and the rest of the families! We got everything all figured out for everyone to get ready for our "booking party!" We all think we've decided on the Disney Fantasy seven day cruise next year! We can't wait!

The photo of the day is the screen the computer was on most of the day! 

 

Rotary Training and Camyrn's Birthday - 74/365

Jim was continuing his training in Columbus today. 

It was going to be a long day for him, they had training from eight to eight. They had lectures on sustainable international projects, designing and funding effective service projects, and how to attract and engage members. 

Jim said it was a long day, but that he did learn a lot. He finally rolled into home just before midnight. 

 While he was doing that, Reagan and I were hanging out at home for the morning watching TV, so I could rest my ankle. Nana was nice enough to go get us a few groceries, since Jim was gone. It was SO NICE!

This afternoon, Reagan and I were going to attempt to make it over to Mercer, for Camryn's 7th birthday party. Luckily I hurt my left ankle, so I was still able to drive fairly easily, although getting myself and Reagan in the car was not easy! LOL! 

We still can't believe Camryn is SEVEN. It feels like she was just born! Time goes too fast. 

The party was in their community building of their private lake community. It was a great little place. 

Camryn had a cat theme going on for the party. Jamie made little headbands with cat ears for all the kids. They were so adorable! She even had a dessert made in a cat litter box with a cat litter scoop to dish it out. It was so real looking, but SO GOOD! 

Another big hit was the chocolate fountain. All the kids loved dunking the rice krispy treats, marshmallows, pretzles and other stuff in the chocolate. Reagan was all about the rice krispy treats. 

Jamie also had some very special guests stop by for Camryn. Ariel and Elsa made an appearance! The kids all squealed with excitement when they walked in! They both told the kids a story and both sang their most famous songs. It was so adorable watching all the kids sing every word to those two songs. Precious!

It was a really fun afternoon! I was happy I was able to hobble my way over to the party! 

Happy Birthday, Camryn!

 The photo of the day is Reagan, Camryn, Elsa and Ariel.

Next, Jim being sworn in during the Commissioning Ceremony.

 

Sprained Ankle and Rotary Training - 73/365

Today was pretty nice. 

It was going to be around 50, so Nana, Reagan, Brinkley and I were going to head out for a walk. We got to the three mile trail that runs from Shields to 224. We pulled in and were getting situated. I got Reagan out of the car and was carrying her to the back of the car, when I rolled my ankle on some uneven pavement. I have never felt pain like that before. It actually took my breath away. I was in SO much pain. The pain itself was extremely hot and sharp. I was actually afraid to look, because I was sure bones were going to be sticking out. Poor Reagan asked Nana, "what happened to my Mommy?" since I was just laying there moaning. Nana was trying to get Reagan and Brinkley back in the car, when a SUPER nice man stopped to see if I was OK. He said to me, "boy it's already swelling up, I'll get some snow." He went over and grabbed a hand full of snow and held it on my ankle until Nana had everyone situated. 

By this time, another man stopped and they both had to lift me up and pretty much heave me in the car. I was mortified! I wish I could thank those guys again, because they were just SO NICE to stop and help. 

On the way to the ER, I was SURE it was broken, it was just throbbing and super hot. We had to run Brinkley back home before we could head over to St. E's, since we didn't know how long we'd be and we didn't want him sitting in the car. 

We finally got there and they saw me pretty much instantly. It was so nice. From start to finish, I was probably only there an hour. They read my x-rays immediately and THANK GOD it wasn't broken! YAY! I did not want to start off the Spring with that kind of recovery time. They gave me an air cast and were on our way. 

In my family, if there is a crises, it means it's time to go to eat. We went straight to Steamers for lunch! LOL!

Jim came up to the ER to check on me, before he had to head to Columbus for the All Ohio Presidents-Elect Training Seminar. He is the incoming President for Boardman Rotary. Every incoming president in the state of Ohio was attending this training seminar this weekend. Luckily, he did know a few other people there, so he wasn't alone. 

He was staying over night, which I hate. I hate being alone in the house, especially with a "broken" ankle! LOL! He got to Columbus safely and situated at the hotel. They were all staying at a Marriott, so he was happy. 

 They were all pretty excited because the Rotary International President Elect 2014 Gary Huang was the Keynote Speaker for the welcome dinner. Gary picked "Light Up Rotary" as his theme this year. He said that most people want to help, but feel there is nothing they can do. Therefore, they end up doing nothing and sit in darkness. He says with Rotary, if every member lights one candle, then they can light the world. Jim said it was very interesting and he really enjoyed the talk. 

 The photo of the day is my leg in the aircast...

Next, Gary Huang the Keynote Speaker at Jim's training seminar. 

 

Ant Class - 72/365

Today, Reagan attended a little indoor class at Fellows Riverside Gardens. 

The topic was ants and she loved it. It was very similar to her Tales for Tots class. They read stories, did a project and even had a snack! It was so cute! 

They made the cutest little ants out of a cut up egg carton. They got to paint it and choose whatever color they wanted. Reagan, of course, picked blue, "because blue is my favorite color" as she always says. She was painting and flung the brush backwards and it hit her forehead. We were laughing because she had a huge blue mark! 

The snack was super adorable, too! It was called ants on a log. It was just celery with cream cheese topped with a few raisins. YUM! It was a cute little class and we hope they do it again. 

 This evening, Ron and Rachel were coming over to visit for a little bit. Rachel and the kids actually came over a little bit early, to take a few St. Patrick's Day pictures. They went great! Ron was nice enough to pick up pizza. We had a nice little visit and plotted our next Disney Cruise adventure! FUN! The kids had a good time playing, too!

The photo of the day is Reagan at ant class.

And, her blue forehead....

Next, Reagan and Milana playing.

Finally, a picture of Parker and Milana I took.