It's Been a Little Crazy 'Round Here

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been crazy to say the least. In the last couple of weeks we have had Zoe's school Christmas concert, my father-in-law had a stroke, Zoe had cheer camp at the high school, Zoe cheered at the high school basketball game, & two snow days. Plus, before all of this, we started painting our countertops in the kitchen. I do have pictures of everything. Hope to get those up in the next day or two.

PS - Does anyone else see the background on here that says the picture or video has been deleted. I have no idea what's happened or going on. It was here when I pulled up the blog. Huh?! Guess I need to figure it out. Any suggestions?

The Tooth Fairy Visits Nov. 28

Sunday as I was Christmas shopping, my cell phone rings. When I answer it, Zoe is squealing with delight as she tells me that her daddy pulled her tooth. You have to understand that Zoe is one of the few left in her first grade class that hasn't lost a tooth yet. She was so excited when she was at the dentist about a month ago & Dr. Kevin informed her that she had 4 teeth loose. He told her to start wiggling them & before you know it, they would come out. Well, the bottom left center has been hanging - & yes, I mean hanging - for a couple of weeks. Zoe finally got brave & asked her daddy to pull it. One the second try, it snapped right out!

After taking her bath & getting her jammies on, Zoe wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy asking that she not take her tooth. When asked why, Zoe said that she wants to keep it forever. (And believe me, if you know anything about my girl, she means FOREVER!!! She is such a pack rat & wants to save everything.)

Zoe was so excited when I woke her up the next morning to get ready for school & she found $7.00 under her pillow, the note she had written, & her tooth. She couldn't have been more thrilled, especially since the tooth fairy left her the amount of money that is her exact age. How cool is that! (Sure wish I'd lose a tooth - $39.00 would come in real handy about now!!!)

A First Times Two Plus a Win!!!

Last Saturday night Paul, Zoe, & I attended the St. Louis Blues hockey game. We had a great time right from the start. As soon as we got there (about 40 minutes before the game started), the usher encouraged us to take Zoe down to the ice while the two teams warmed up. Boy, are we glad we did. While we were standing there watching, a puck flew over the glass & landed right between Zoe's feet. She was thrilled! (Paul said that he'd been going to hockey games for over twenty years & has never gotten a puck. Zoe goes to her third game ever & gets her first ever puck!) Plus, during the game, a fan from our section was chosen to participate in a game on the jumbo-tron. He won which gave everyone in our section a free $1 lottery ticket. Zoe had a blast scratching off her first ever lottery ticket. No winner, but she was pretty excited for a seven year old.

Zoe & Daddy after finding our seats!

Watching practice...

The NJ Devils goalie - a hometown boy from St. Louis.

Zoe with her puck - how awesome!

Discussing their strategy.

A face-off...

Right before the Blues score.

A fight about to start.

The Blues goalie stops the puck before it enters the net.

The Blues goalie!

Another face-off.

Zoe's lottery ticket!

Erik Johnson - a Blues defensemen.

The final face-off before the Blues beat the Devils 3 to 2!

A Sneak Peak

of our 2010 Christmas Card! You all know how much I love this time of the year. With all of the hustle & bustle, it just makes the holidays that much more enjoyable for me. And, one of my favorite things about Christmas is the sending & receiving of Christmas cards. That's why I always put so much time & energy into our yearly card. It just has to be perfect (in my eyes anyway). So, this year as I was searching for the perfect card, I happened upon this etsy site. What beautiful work Daina does! Plus, she's so easy to work with. Once I placed my order I had a proof in less than 12 hours. Where else can you get that kind of service? Go check it out & see if you can figure out which card we are using this year. Kottage on 5th will not disappoint. (Oh, and by the way, don't be surprised if you see some card samples with Zoe's picture on it. Zoe was asked to be one of the models!)

Everyone Loves a Giveaway!!!!

A fellow adoptive mom, Stefanie, is giving something away for the next 30 days. She always has the most creative items on her blog so I am excited to see what things she comes up with for the next 30 days. Check it out for yourself. You never know, you just might win!!!

While I Was Away....

Zoe Gwen turned 7 on October 4th. She told me the night before her birthday that she wanted me to wake her up early so she could open her presents & eat breakfast in bed before school. Here are pictures (Minus the breakfast in bed. I was too busy getting ready for work myself to snap those pictures!) to prove I followed her wish....

Just what she wanted - a N*ntendo D$ L!te!!!! (with a game, of course!)

And here's a picture of out sweet girl all cleaned up:

Happy (Late) Birthday, Zoe Gwen! We Love You to the Moon & Back!

Too Much TV?

The other day I'm messing around in the kitchen & Zoe comes flying in & says:

"Mom, can you let me know when it's Eight Seven Central?!"

Whatya think? Too much TV?

A New Job

So the other day Zoe & I were riding in the car. And this is how the conversation rolled:

Zoe - "Mom, I've been thinking."

Me - "What about?"

Zoe - "Well, I think I still wanna work at H**ters when I grow up. But instead of being a doctor, I think I wanna be a teacher."

Me - "Oh, Zoe, that's awesome. You know that I would be very proud of you if you ended up being a teacher. Just like Me."

Zoe - (smiles)

Me - "So, why do you think you wanna be a teacher?"

Zoe - "Well, because I think it'd be really cool to eat in the teachers' lounge!!!!!"

(I didn't have the heart to tell her the teachers' lounge isn't all its cracked up to be!)

It's True....

Our baby is a first grader!!!! It's just so hard to believe. She's growing up way too fast. Too fast in fact that this morning after arriving at school, she just kind of looked at me, gave me a smile, & off she went. No kiss, no hug, nothing...just a little grin & a short wave. Makes me kinda sad. But on the other hand, so happy knowing she loves school & couldn't wait to get started this morning. (I'm sure I'll be just like that tomorrow when it's my first day back at school - NOT!!!)

Zoe with her heavy backpack all ready for the first day!

Missing in Action

(Warning: This is a long post with a lot of pictures!)

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We just arrived home from a much needed week's vacation on Lake Erie in Ohio. Even though the week flew by, we had a great time. Here's the run down of our week:

Saturday, July 31st: We left Saturday morning around 5 AM & arrived at our condo on Lake Erie in Sandusky, Ohio about 4 PM. That evening we walked around downtown Sandusky, ate dinner, made a quick trip to a "mom & pop" grocery store, & basically hung out at the condo.

Sunday, August 1st: Slept in, checked out the city, had a late lunch at a local restaurant, & then explored the lake front.

Monday, August 2nd: We headed to Kelley's Island & Put-in-Bay Island to explore. We had a great time renting golf carts & driving all over the islands. There were many beautiful houses on the lake & lots of friendly people. We visited the Butterfly House & the Cave in Put-in-Bay. Zoe enjoyed taking the ferries to each island. (I know, you're probably asking where the pictures are. I accidentally left the camera back at the condo. When I realized it, it was too late!)

Tuesday, August 3rd: Cedar Point - A Roller Coaster Lover's Dream. It was a little cloudy & rainy when we first got there, but it eventually cleared up to make for a great day.

Zoe on the Carousel.

Lovin' on Sn**py!

Dad & Zoe waiting for the Scrambler to start.

After getting her hair wrapped.

Petting the goat.

A beautiful unicorn face painting.

Paul waiting for take-off on the Dragster Roller Coaster. It takes off at 250 miles per hour just like a dragster race car. (It was so much fun watching everyone's faces when it took off!)

That's Paul coming over the top of the ride.

Wednesday, August 4th: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Paul had been waiting for this day for quite some time. Knowing that Zoe would not last as long as Paul would want to stay (hours & hours), I planned for Zoe & I to eventually make our way to the Cleveland Zoo.

Big guitars that select artists had designed & signed.

This was hanging in the lobby. Zoe wanted a picture of it since Gwen is her middle name!

(After about an hour & a half, Zoe had had enough & we headed to the zoo.)

There were painted dinosaurs all over the zoo. Zoe loved getting her picture with them.

Porcupine in the Rainforest exhibit.

The zoo's current display is - "The Scoop on Poop". It was quite entertaining.

Another face paining - a Monarch Butterfly. (Many people kept saying she made such a cute tiger. Zoe got a big chuckle out of that.)

Riding the camel.

And with her new friend Kendall.

A Koala baby with its mama.

Another dinosaur.

On the zoo's tram.

The Scoop on Poop exhibit sign.

We headed back to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame about 15 minutes before the zoo closed. Shortly after our arrival, kids from the School of Rock House Band in Kansas City, MO performed a live concert of classic rock. It was awesome. Those kids could sing. In fact, there were many times that people would walk in the Hall of Fame doors & instantly look around trying to find the original artist, only to be surprised it was a group of young kids.

Thursday, August 5th: Niagara Falls. On a whim, we decided to drive the 3 1/2 hours to Niagara Falls. We figured we were this close, we might as well take advantage of it. Let me tell you, the falls did not disappoint. They were absolutely gorgeous & we had a wonderful time (except for the almost running out of gas - thanks to my husband - that's a another story in itself).

Waiting to board the Maid of the Mist ferry boat.

Zoe was getting wet & loving it!

Friday, August 6th: Marblehead Light House. We had seen this light house from the ferry boat when we toured the islands. With nothing to do on our last day, we decided to drive to Marblehead. We had a wonderful lunch at Avery's diner & then headed to Marblehead Light House State Park.

Zoe & I climbed the 72 step up to the top & then the 72 steps back down.

Zoe jumping on the rocks!

Striking a pose...

And then ending with a jump!

Overall, we had a wonderful vacation. It just wasn't long enough! Everyone says it's always nice to be home. I guess, but now Zoe & I have to get ready for school which starts in a week. YUK! Summer has flown by!