Matt at a Buckeye game?????

Yes that is what I said.....Go Bucks!

Wow....it has been a while

I have been seriously neglecting my blog, mainly because this last quarter of school was insane, long, heartbreaking....I can not name a single good adjective to describe it! The good news is that it is over and now that the holidays are over I can spend time with some of my favorite things. This week I am going to post some of the highlights of the last three months. Obviously I will not be able to post everything.....

Starting with Aidan's first Midnight Madness, and HALLOWEEN...yes I know that we just had Christmas, but gotta start somewhere.....Aidan is finally in Step One Competition and LOVES it!Here are a few pics of her in with her "I'm so Pretty" ballet costume, plus a little snippet of the girls performing after only a few weeks of practice.

Here are a few videos of the girls...one from Midnight Madness "I'm so pretty", and one from parent observation"Walk the Dinosaur".This was a few months ago, and they had just learned the dances....some of the girls are in their first year in competition, some have done it a few years all ready!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef7HPM1gRmQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiUNh_Qf9kI

I'm not going to say much about our Halloween happenings....but I will post a few pics of the kids in their costumes....just for memories sake!

Kailey Marie turns 2

I can't believe how much KK has grown in the last year. She has her own little personality, and happens to LOVE Dora(Dowa) and Diego. She had a windy Dora birthday party at Sharon Woods. The kids played and played...

It took me soooo many pics to get any good ones of KK because she loves to look away at the last second...it was so much more fun to watch her open presents this year.Notice her cute little necklace that Sarah had made for her.

Of course we had to end with Dora cake

School Picture Day

Matching of course....Love these beautifully handsome faces

Broken limbs

I think that every kid has to break something at some time or another....we had a little girl who a broke her arm about a week ago. Aidan has been brave through the whole process...of course it was a monkey bar accident!!!! I think they should ban these from school playgrounds. Her first cast was purple and she actually thought of it as a fashion accessory. She matched her cast to her costume from the Flintstones, even though she did not get to perform in her first Fourth Friday event. This week the "bone" doctor gave her a shorter tie-died cast that she will have on for three weeks. The neat thing about this cast is that it is completely waterproof!

The break was a slight angulation of the distal radius...and here is a pic of the x-ray...

(which I will insert later...not near the scanner)

My Projects

I have been very very busy while on this break from school....getting engaged, the kids back to school, back to activities, and making improvements around the house. I started with our dining room chairs...which were in such bad shape Matt will not let me post before pics....so here are some after!

The material on the seat is actually a dark jean...which will be very easy to clean and hide stains!!!! Then I reworked a very comfortable dining bench that Matt's Mom gave us...the material originally on it was the exact same material that was on my Mom's couch when I was in high school...which was very early 90's. Here is the bench....sorry no before pics!!!! I forgot! I bought the jean material for the chairs on clearance for five dollars a yard...and when I decided to go back for the bench of course it was gone...I had to settle on a slightly different color, that was also on clearance. I changed the lettering a little....but I don't have a pic of that. Yes...soon my last name will be Clegg!

My last huge....project was a love seat that was really dirty and a little chewed from when Bella was a puppy. So I tackled it....and it was quite a job! But I did enjoy doing it. The blue material I got for 50% off at JoAnn's and I had left over material from the curtains for the pillows.

We also did the curtains(which I will post pics of later because I am missing one accessory), plus some for the kids room, Matt installed a closet organizer in the bedroom, a he bought a brand new light for the dining room to replace the 80's gold chandelier that was in there. I'm gonna miss being home......

The Sound of Music....

Blaise is normally a kid that we have to motivate a little to try new things. At the beginning of the school year Blaise came home with a special request. He said Mom can I please play the Violin? I was floored....he never actually asks to try something, so I was very excited that he was wanting to try an instrument. He even reminded me about the parent meeting. When the WSHS strings class played for us, I got chills I was also very emotional thinking that Blaise was growing so fast. I remember clearly when I was in the fifth grade sitting in the cafeteria being given the same choice. I chose band, the trumpet actually...which didn't last long!!!!! Why I picked the trumpet I am really not sure.....I have a really good feeling about this, call it mother's intuition...I can't count the amount of times that he thanked me when I took him to rent his violin. I am very thankful for this opportunity....

It really is a beautiful instrument.

Boyscout Troop 471

Blaise is officially a boyscout....which is a really big deal in the scouting world. We decided on Troop 471, which we both feel is a really good fit for him. Look in later posts for some fantastic trips that Blaise is participating in! Good luck Blaise....maybe we will ave an Eagle Scout in our family.

A Sleepover with KK

My niece Kailey came for a sleepover after our festivities on Labor Day at Grandma's house. Here are a few pics of the place that our wedding ceremony will take place. Don't worry it will be much more spectacular when I'm done with it...lol

Then we had Kailey over....we had so much fun! It was so nice to have a little two(almost) year old in the house. I truly miss those days.....I miss their sweet little hands and feet the most. I really couldn't get her to actually look at the camera. So I took the best pictures that I could.

Of course she had to have a bath after the long day of playing..Aidan took one with her and she would not be happy if I posted pics...lol

I had to put her in an ovesized T-shirt. I love little kids in big T-shirts.

It was also a very big night for Aidan...the poor girl inherited my hairiness...and had grown really really really long hair in her legs. So long that you could probably brush it....really! She took a little ridicule about it at school, which I also remember getting in dance class. So I naired it for her....yes I removed the hair from her calves...am I a bad Mom for not standing up to peer pressure?

The next day when the kids went to school is when KK and I really were able to spend time together. I get no love when her cousins are around....we colored, watched her favorite Dora, danced, andchased eachother around. Such a good girl!

Emerson Ice Cream Social

Aidan had the opportunity to perform at the Emerson Ice Cream Social, which is a magnet school in Westerville. She had lots of fun...and of course I had my camera in tow.

Dance....dance....dance

Aidan is very happy to be back at dance, we are also happy that she can work off some of that extra seven year old energy there. This will be her first year in competitive dance with a beginning program that they call Step One. Of course this is all she can talk about....she has three teachers this year...

Miss Jade for Tap VII

Ms. Jazmin for her Step One classes

of course she has Ms. Nicole for her Jazz and Ballet technique classes( who is very preggo in this pic...but of course she looks so good you can't tell!)

Here are a few more pics from the first day of classes