ALL ABOARD

Yesterday me and my little guys had a wonderful time on the Polar Express! CVSR has a bunch of runs to The North Pole, and we were lucky enough to be chosen to ride along last night. It started with the reading of "The Polar Express." We have loved that story for some time, and it was great to be there with so many other people enjoying it.



We had hot chocolate, just like in the movie, and we told Christmas jokes. When we got to the North Pole, we saw tons of elves, Frosty, Rudolph and even a Christmas Cowboy (???)

Then we saw Santa riding up on his sleigh. He came aboard and sat with each child. My 5 year old told me he was going to tell Santa he wanted one of the bells from his sleigh just like in the book. AND DIDN'T SANTA GIVE THEM ALL A BELL!!!! Brendan was amazed. I cried.



On the way back we sang about 20 Christmas Carols. The boys got train whistles and a little plastic train set.

I'm so glad we were one of the lucky ones chosen to go. It was wonderful! The elves on the train (and even the ladies in the office taking care of a mix up) were so helpful and enthusiastic. That's how it should be!!

thanksgiving days

Thanksgiving was great, as always, family and food is always a good combination. Even though we lost power for almost 2 hours, it was great! THANKS AGAIN MOM!!

Last night was eventful. Why, you ask? I was in Cleveland. NO Cleveland has nothing to do with it, but a concert has everything to do with it! Me and Melanie (woohoo) went to see Rob Thomas. But let me start at the beginning...

We almost missed an entrance and Melanie gunned it when the light turned green and peeled out in order to get in front of a snow plow. Yeah, she's crazy like that.

We get to the Wyndham and did not have the room that we reserved..so they had to upgrade us to a king suite. We were like, umm..oh alright, if you have to..sigh..

It was awesome! 2 tv's, fridge, microwave, and king size bed, plus they brought up a roll-away bed. I thought that only happened in the movies...but ok.

So we walk like 3 minutes up the sidewalk to the theater district and go in and find that our seats are right at the end of the stairway all the way in the back. LAST ROW. Now, if you've ever been to the palace theatre, you know that means nothing cause it's small, and the seats had a great view straight back from the middle of the stage. BUT they smoosh the seats so close that you are literally overlapping with the person next to you. Right behind us is the box seats and no one is in the one to our left. We wait until Anna Nalick is done with her set. She is good, sort of silly during the performance, but it helped her ballerina pixie image all the more. She has an incredible voice and an awesome band.




After she finishes, on my way for some drinks, I ask an usher about the empty box seats and he pretty much said to wait and see if anyone sits there, then whatever. So we wait, then right before Rob takes the stage, we go to make our move. However, the woman now at the stairs makes a big deal out of it and says we have to go the head usher, along the way talking to 2 other people about it..sigh...so the head usher says no and the gentleman (of about 70) says, "I'd like to help, but they'd kick my ass." It was funny hearing this from the old dude, and I just said, "Oh, we don't want that to happen! But thanks." So we are walking back to the lobby area and notice the woman isn't standing guard at the bottom of the steps anymore and discuss just going up there. I mention that there is another set of steps on the other side of the theatre, and that's where we go. Up the steps, past old props, into dark hallways, and right behind the box seats. We find an empty one and spend the next couple of hours enjoying great music, dancing, and comfort!! woohoo!!!

Rob Thomas, of course was incredibly, awesomely, sweet! He did his stuff, some Matchbox20 stuff, and then threw in greats like Space Cowboy (and the entire audience said woot-woo after some people call me maurice) it was hilarious. he and Anna sang Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks "Stop dragging my heart around" that was NICE! Rob and his awesome band did "Aint no sunshine" I sang "I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know..." for hours!!

Like always, his set was simple, he was humble and sincere, but his show was magnificent. When he sang "This is how a heart breaks" everyone was up, dancing, screaming, yelling...everything...yep...awesome..









Not so awesome was the desk calling us at 9 in the morning after being at the hotel bar and ordering pizza and not getting to sleep until almost 3, to tell us that there are complaints of us making noise. They did NOT take into consideratin that there were about 6 teenage boys in the room next to us...

Anyhow, to top off a great time, we stopped at Panera's on the way home. MMMM!!!

I hope we continue this birthday tradition for many MANY years!! Thanks MEL!!

i'm thankful for...tests!!

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?

Ummm...blogspot has no purple blogs..how do i get my own background?

umm..yeah...i agree with that...

Which TV Mom Are You?
Theresa, your TV Mom is June Cleaver

You are June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver. You might not wear pearls while you do your housework, but you probably like the idea of being a traditional type of mom who bakes special treats for your kids when they come home from school and who sits down to dinner with them at night. You think of thoughtful ways to show your kids you care — like making elaborate Halloween costumes or whipping up chicken noodle soup for sore throats — and you work hard to stay involved in their lives.

Of course, you teach your children right from wrong and always hold them to strict standards, though you may prefer that someone else in the household do the actual disciplining. That's just because you are so devoted to your little ones, you can't stand the thought of missing out on any time with them behind angry doors or pouting faces.

How stupid

Not that I was worried but...I took ANOTHER, yes ANOTHER test....




I'll take it! But I want to know what questions I missed....yeah, I'm anal like that.

The ABC's of Theresa

Thanks Leesa for providing yet some more fun to my day!!

A-Able
B-Brave
C-Crafty
D-Disappointed
E-Excluded
F-Free
G-Gullable
H-Hopeful
I-Inquisitive
J-Joking
K-Kind
L-Loving
M-Misunderstood
N-Noteworthy
O-Openminded
P-Pittsburgh Fan!
Q-Quick-witted
R-Reliable
S-Sensitive
T-Ticklish
U-Unaware
V-Vegetarian's Mom
W-Warm
X-eXcluded (so i cheated)
Y-Young
Z-a Zip (Akron U)

I'll have to find a new place to eat....

There is a little diner near our house that has become a favorite place to go out and eat. Unfortunately, I keep getting myself into embarrassing situations, and I have to wait until they are forgotten before returning. (That is forgotten by me, not them, they could care less, and I know I care too much).

The first situation I got myself into was when the waitress hugged me goodbye. Simply explained, she gave us a sob story, I listened, then left her a LARGE tip. (pure pity...not because of service) Before she even saw the tip, she hugged me for being so "understanding and decent." I saw her through the window when she found the tip and started running for the front door. I threw the kids in the van on top of each other and sped away.

Most recently, it was just my two boys and myself there. I gave them each a pen to write on the back of their paper place mats while waiting for our meals. I noticed Brendan had ink all over his hands. The pen was broke. I wrote a note to please throw it away, and took Brendan to the bathroom to (unsuccessfully) wash off the ink. When I got back, the waitress was placing our food on the table. She was smiling...alot. I thought, what the heck? Does she know about the big tip and is trying to milk me??? That "other" waitress has been gone for some time by the way.

The behavior of the waitress still sat funny with me as we were finishing, and more than the usual amount of employees passed our table. It finally dawned on me.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S FOUR YEARS OLD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

Better timing than me...

This weekend was bittersweet for me. We finally stayed a night in the house. It's nowhere near done, and most of the stuff we moved was from Katie's room. She and I slept in my room and the house made noises, and otherwise silence of the night allowed me "think". No good! So I was excited and sad, happy and mad, dissapointed and proud. I'm a wreck. So I find this on another blog (Leesa's, but we know my linking stinks!!) and muttering seemed like what I needed to do right now. We'll see.

1. Deeper and deeper:: The leaf pile we made this weekend was not as big as they used to be. The boys enjoyed themselves, but I didn't have alot of time to play.
   
   
2. Can’t help .... ::Everyone, all the time. I try, and will try again and again, but need to realize I can't always.
   
   
3. Devil’s advocate:: My sister is the one to spread the word of good and bad news to the family in Pittsburgh. Often I think she's psychic.
   
   
4. Superpower:: I hate when asked to chose one. I think if I'm a super hero, I'd be afforded several. I want to fly, I want to make people tell the truth, and I want to manipulate my surroundings in some way!!!
   
   
5. Threatening:: I don't feel threatened hardly ever. I hope that I'm not threatening to anyone else, that's not a good feeling.
   
   
6. Played:: The guitar just a little this weekend. It needs tuned and I can't do it perfectly, but can hear when it's even just a little off, so I don't play. I need to get a tuner until I learn to do it on my own.
   
   
7. War:: I'm glad my brother is not currently in the service. My sisters too really, but he was in the gulf war and I don't know how he feels about it really..whether he wishes he was still in there or not, he may. But I am glad he is not, it's a sad time. It's a proud of the guys/girls over there doing what they think is right. But it's sad none the less.
   
   
8. Violate:: My emotions, and privacy by not knocking when walking into MY house.
   
   
9. Invest:: Alot of time in something, giving it you is the most important thing you could do for anything...anyone...no matter what the outcome, if you invest you, you can't go wrong.
   
   
10. Choke:: Several times this weekend I felt choked up, thought of something else, and moved on.
    
    

WHEW, ok, that felt good. I just wanted to add a little something at the end. Thank you, once again, Amy for opening your home and fire ring for the kids. They always have such a good time. My favorite quote of the weekend for sure is "We need that big pancake to death! If not, it'll break my little heart!" She is sooooo cute!!

I wanna be my inner child

border="0">Your Inner Child Is HappyYou see life as simple, and simple is a very good thing.You're cheerful and upbeat, taking everything as it comes.And you decide not to worry, even when things look bad.You figure there's just so many great things to look forward to.