Riding the Cart

On some mornings of the week Reese and I go to Restaurant Depot. They only have flat bed carts which are not meant for children to sit on. When Reese was really little, I use to take her car seat with its base and set it on the cart with her in it. When we switched car seats, I would take in my stroller or leave her at home with her dad while I went really early to the store.

Now, most mornings if we have to go together, I take her and either carry her and pull the cart or sometimes I sit her down on it. She has been really good about sitting in the middle of the cart, staying still, and holding onto the handle or basket of the cart.

This morning is the first morning that both my children had to go with me. Reese decides that this is the morning that she wants to stand on the cart and hold on, and Riley decides that he wants to walk, which is fine. In addition to the fact that Reese does not want to sit, the refrigerator door that is closest to what we need and to the registers is broken, and we have to go all the way around to the other door to the cooler. We travel very slowly, and I am holding onto the side of the cart with my hand on Reese's back. Once we get to the back door of the cooler, we have to travel back toward the front door to get the mushrooms and hamburgers that we need, and then back to the back door to leave the cooler.

Once I put the mushrooms on the cart, Reese crawled over to the box and was trying to get into it. I was wondering what she was trying to do and was afraid that she was going to crush my mushrooms. I finally figured out that she wanted a mushroom and I dug one out of box for her. That got her to sit down and eat the mushroom while I pulled the cart back toward the entrance.

The trials and tribulations of motherhood...

Boo Hoo!

We did not come home with the National Championship, but we did get to see New Orleans and travel the 1-10 from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi. It is amazing how much rebuilding there is left to do. That part of the country is forever changed by Katrina.

We ate Louisiana cuisine, visited the French Quarter, and Bourbon Street the first night we were in New Orleans. We did most of our travelling by walking because we stayed in the Warehouse District. We spent our second day in New Orleans partying like a true Buckeye at Ernst's Cafe right down the street from our hotel, the New Orleans Buckeye Hangout! Our last morning in New Orleans, we ate beignets at Cafe du Monde, which Ron did not think was much of a breakfast, doughnuts not being his thing! I, on the other hand, wanted to try them and loved the warm doughnuts with powdered sugar. We saw some donkey drawn carriages and went to the Hard Rock Cafe for our traditional t-shirt.

One of the best parts of our trip was going to the Garden District. I wanted to visit the toy store there, but did not find anything for my kids. For lunch we went to The Big Fisherman, bought a bag of crawfish, and took them to eat by the Mississippi River. Boy, were they delicious!

I did get to rest and relax on our trip, sleep in and read a few books by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. What a great trip!

Happy New Year!

I made it through the grind of the end of the year, illness and all. I got a really bad eye infection that has finally cleared up!

Riley's pirate party was a hit, and he was happy that his friends came to his house to play!

At the last minute we went to see my husband's family in Cleveland for New Year's and Ron's birthday. It was a fun day with family and we got out of there in the nick of time because they got 8 inches of snow!

Now, we are preparing to go on vacation! We leave tomorrow for New Orleans! Now that the preparations are almost set, I am getting more excited! I know that everything will be okay while I am gone, but there is the restaurant to worry about and the kids that are staying home with grandma and grandpa. But, this is my chance to have some fun, see something new, and sit with a good book and relax!

Now, how will the Bucks do in New Orleans? Will we come home with a national championship trophy? I hope so, but only time will tell!

It's Christmas Eve!

I've made it to Christmas Eve. The presents are all wrapped and ready to go. We have made it to see our family and have enjoyed some quality time with them. Now, rest and relaxation for the next two days. Then, Wednesday it is back to the grindstone of work and preparing for Riley's birthday party on Saturday.

I've Given Up!

Try as I might, but I still can't seem to get it all done, so I've given up! Some things will not happen this year. We will not put up a tree. I will not send out Christmas cards.

I couldn't get the house clean to put up the tree. Now, it seems pointless since it has to come down right after Christmas to make way for a birthday party. The choice is send out party invitations or Christmas cards. The almost five year old won that argument, and so the invites go out, and the Christmas cards stay in the box.

What have I learned, start earlier next year! Make sure all Christmas cards are done before Thanksgiving, the tree is put up Thanksgiving weekend, and then there will be time to plan a birthday party and have all of Christmas.

By the way, I still have wrapping to do, but when, who knows!

The Work Is Never Done

I keep thinking that I am done Christmas shopping because I have bought for my children and my family. But, the list just keeps growing as to the things that I need to get done before Christmas. I still have nine teachers between my children to think about, a few others that I am forgetting right now, and Christmas cards, which, for some reason, I decided to make with my children this year. They are really cute though, and my son really likes to paint. I even got my daughter to paint her hand for a few.

In addition to all that, I need to get invitations out by this weekend for my son's fifth birthday party on the 29th. I hope that two weeks is enough notice to get a few friends to come. Riley is looking forward to this birthday and its party because he has seen birthday parties all year long and really wants one of his own. I hope that he can stick to one theme so that I can come up with theme related activities.

Oh, I forgot, wrapping, I have not started yet! That's another part of Christmas that I keep forgetting about, what is bought has to be wrapped. Come to think about it, I have not even checked to see if I have wrapping paper left over from last year!

Oh yes! The mailing of packages and cards, I keep relegating that to the backseat, but it has to be done soon or else the packages will not get to their destination before Christmas and I will have to stand in some long line at the post office.

Oh boy, everywhere I turn, I need to get something done and soon so that I will have a sense of accomplishment!