Ten on Tuesday

1. Check out our resident hillbilly...
Snaggletooth Max!


I crack up every time I see him. The other tooth is super loose too, so it makes it even funnier.

2. And a Ross' Chopper Update! Okay, I can't really update you on the progress because it looks the same every time I see it, but parts keep coming in the mail, so I assume that means progress... I do have a picture though (looks good, honey):



3. I know I have mentioned before that Max is the computer kid of the house. Well, the other night we caught him like this:



The background... Ross said his chiropractor doesn't sit to use his computer, so we had this computer up high for a couple of days. Max pushed a chair over and stood on it to see.

4. Random insect photo for the week...


(Tricia- I don't think this ups the ante, but I did have it on my camera, so I figured I would share)

5. Did you hear about Los Angeles and their crazy heat (113)? If we were still there in our non-air conditioned house, I think we would be toasted marshmallows.

6. I found an old roll of film (what's that, right?) so I went to get it developed today. Should be interesting if anything turns up. Considering when we first got our digital camera, it has some how survived three moves.

7. Have you seen this Human Pacman video on youtube? I can't imagine how long that took to make. Max loves it! I'm going to have to show him the real game.

8. It appears we have flipped the page and made it to fall full time now. Much cooler temps! (Sorry, I just can't not write about the weather)

9. The rest of this week involves Zoey's actual birthday and birthday party- Eight is Great!!

10. Here's the birthday girl riding in the back of the truck the other day in a field by our house...

Just Some Pics

We went to check out another park in the area and had some fun just taking some pictures of the kids.


It is funny how a view from a different angle can capture them a different way! I can see a teenage boy in Max in this picture... Looking at me a little annoyed or just in the "I don't smile for pictures" phase!



And then just a few seconds later... Back to sweet, smiling, six year old Max...


And Zoey... always looking at me so seriously in front of the camera... how I love your cute freckles!



Oh, here I caught a smile!

Running Songs

A friend recently asked if I had any motivating running songs that I could pass along. I remember asking the same thing (to nobody in particular) when I was training for various running events. I would google "good running songs" and search iTunes mixes for new stuff... Anyway, I came up with a list for her (I don't think she expected it to be this LONG) and decided I would share here, just in case anyone else was interested. I must mention, that it is a little bit of a weird and varied list. But, they have all been runner tested (over and over). They vary in tempos, too, so some work perfect for a nice jog where you don't want to pay attention to time or pace, and others are great for when you step into your go-fasty shoes!


And if you have any that you can share with me, please do! I am always looking for new tunes! They are in alphabetical order...

1. All Summer Long by Kid Rock
2. Beauty in the World by Macy Gray
3. Bleed it Out by Linkin Park
4. Colorful by Rocco DeLuca
5. Come on Get Higher by Matt Nathanson
6. Could You Be Loved by Bob Marley
7. Crazy in Love by Beyonce
8. Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers
9. Dirty Little Thing by Velvet Revolver
10. Ditty by Paperboy
11. Dragula by Rob Zombie
12. Family Affair by Mary J Blige
13. Far Behind Social D
14. First Time by Life House
15. Forever by Chris Brown
16. Fuel by Metallica
17. Gives You Hell by All American Rejects
18. Hey, Soul Sister by Train
19. Holiday by Green Day
20. Hollywood by Collective Soul
21. Honey, Honey from the Mama Mia Soundtrack
22. How Far We’ve Come by Matchbox 20
23. I Love This Town by Bon Jovi
24. I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
25. Juicy by Better than Ezra
26. Just Like This by Limp Bizkit
27. Let’s Get it Started by Black Eyed Peas
28. Nookie by Limp Bizkit
29. Remedy by Seether
30. Rich Girl by Gwen Stefanie
31. Say Hey (I love you) by Michael Franti
32. Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
33. Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow
34. Starlight by Muse
35. Steady as She Goes by the Raconteurs
36. Story of My Life by Social D
37. Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
38. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
39. Upside Down by Jack Johnson
40. Viva La Vida by Coldplay
41. Wishlist by Pearl Jam
42. Woman by Wolfmother
43. You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson
44. You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC
45. You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid by the Offspring
46. 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins

Playtime with Max

Max is still home for part of the day with me, so we are enjoying our playtime together as much as we can.

We got some Halloween parachute guys from a recent party and so we were dropping them from the upstairs landing and see who would win!

When he carried three up to the top they were all tangled!


Max, of course, thinks it's hilarious! He just tugged a little and they came loose!


(I have to mention... he picked out the outfit himself and was very proud of it)

Alright, ready to drop!


Who's going to win? It's Ghost 1, Ghost 2, and Witch...


Aren't you glad you tuned in for this excitement???





Ghost 2 was the winner! Almost every time, I might add... I think he put some weights in his shoes...

And then we moved on to Turtle Maps! Max and these three turtles explored the maps of one of Zoey's old workbooks... That's one thing about Max... he can turn anything into a game or adventure.




And now we are getting serious...


thanks for playin!

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on a Tuesday

1. Our Jeep just recently went over 100K miles. A service light just came on. Like I couldn't have predicted that would happen...

2. I read an interesting article that had an argument that introverts get more annoyed with people than extroverts. I think this is the case with me and my weird annoyances. It makes sense... instead of hanging back in a line and being irked, the extrovert sees an opportunity to find a new friend! Gotta love the differences in people.

3. I'm wondering if my family and friends are going to get tired of all the photo gifts I have planned for them! People don't get tired of pictures, do they?

4. Speaking of... here is my random photo of the week... tomatoes!


5. The weather is still doing the "I don't know if its summer or fall thing." One day 92, then next 72. I wouldn't mind either way, but the kids are still suffering in the non-air.

6. I am hoping all of the super warm days don't dry out the leaves and trees before they turn to their glorious fall colors. I see a lot of brown out there already. And I have no idea what makes for a pretty fall... rain, cool or warm temps?

7. Zoey's still kicking some booty on the soccer field. My dad asked me to video some of it, so I charged up the battery, but brought the camera to the field last night without the battery in it. Nice. I will try next game.

8. Are balloon festivals only a southwest thing? Pictures/blog posts are popping up all over about them.

9. Countdown to Zoey's birthday... 1 week and 1 day. She is excited about having a field trip on that day! Pretty cool.

10. Okay, so I guess Ross and I are a little competitive with each other... Before I got on injured reserve, I was running pretty fast and breaking lots of my old times for things (this is all relative, of course, fast is fast for me). So lately, Ross keeps coming to me and showing me his GPS run graphs that show his time/pace/mileage... He keeps telling me he is only preparing for his fitness test coming up, but I'm not buying it.

Good Buddies

For the most part, Zoey and Max play together really well. We have our moments, of course. But usually, all is good. Sometimes, so well, that they can even share a chair...

They are playing a computer game here and were taking turns on different levels.

Zoey and Her Beloved Buford

Since Zoey is turning 8 soon, I have ideas in my head to capture her (in photos of course) just how she is at this moment. A sneak peek at one of the pics I recently took is of her and her stuffed doggy Buford. He shares a birthday with Zoey, minus one year. He was a gift for her first birthday from Grandma and Papa. She picked him up that first day he was delivered and hasn't put him away since. He was so important at one time that we had a collar made for him with our phone number on it, just in case! She still sleeps with him, but we don't know when he will become just a sentimental old friend, put up on the shelf. He's still here now...

Thoughts on a Thursday...

So, I woke up this morning thinking it was Friday. That always stinks when you realize it isn't true. It has sort of set the mood for the day as well... After a short week last week, this one seems to be slowly moving along.

I think the kids feel it too. They are tired this afternoon, and cranky.

It's easy to go in that direction, so I thought I'd try and take a different path.

Be positive and see my beautiful world...

The sky was so blue yesterday and the leaves are just starting to turn.





Here are some mums in a planter in the front of our house that grew back from last year! I was surprised because I didn't expect them to come back so well (or even at all). They make me smile every time I drive up the driveway.



And some nice light behind the sprinkler the other night.

Ten on Tuesday

1. I'm a proud soccer mama and just have to share... Zoey had a hat trick in her game yesterday!! That's three goals in one game for those of you who don't speak soccer.

2. I, of course, missed them all. I was with Max though watching him score a goal, just two fields away!

3. The cool thing is that we knew she was capable, and it seems that it is all starting to click!

4. The mornings and evenings have a coolness to them that definitely say "fall" and the days are mild and sunny.... Ross and I were talking about it and kind of laughed that these nice days are pretty much every day in Southern California, but we didn't go there...

5. Max doesn't want to go to school each day, but I pick him up and he is smiling and excited to share what happened so I think he is actually enjoying it a little bit.

6. Zoey is so over the color pink right now and only wants blue clothes! But she still loves dogs, so when I saw this shirt at Target today I couldn't resist... I think it will be a birthday gift to her from Max since they share the puppy love.


7. So, Sarah McLachlan has a new album out (actually this summer). I love her. I saw her in concert many moons ago and she was one of those where you totally appreciate their talent so much more after you see them perform live. Anyway, I think this song is cute and catchy. Not typical Sarah, but hey, it's been seven years...

8. Max has been killing me lately with his funny stuff, and I forget them when I come to write... But the other day I was getting him ready for school and told him he needed to go brush his teeth. He was complaining a little about not wanting to go (see #5) and he didn't need to brush. I told him he had stinky breath and couldn't go to school that way. So, we are walking into the building and he starts blowing all around. I ask what he is doing and he says, "Blowing my stinky breath everywhere, guess I can't go to school."

9. Pray for me now

10. I am hoping to get out of my blogging rut of only Ten on Tuesday posts... maybe another month of photos or something... Happy Tuesday!!

Sweet Baby Pups

There's no doubt about it. Our kids love dogs. Real ones, stuffed animal ones, pictures of them, and, of course, Scooby...

And if there is one thing that Ross and I are big softies on, it is buying stuffed animal dogs! We definitely have too many. BUT, they love them and play with them in so many different ways, that sometimes, I just can't say no. Plus, it keeps us from getting a real dog for the time being, which, if you move a lot, is a good thing! All of our stuffed doggies are girls and their name usually begins with "BABY".

I was cleaning up a little this morning and found a stray pup. I plopped her inside of Max's hood as a little joke and went about my business. He kept her there all morning and chatted away... Here he is with "Baby Shell"

Ten On Tuesday

1. A big WooHoo for starting the work/school week on a Tuesday! Love me some three day weekends!!

2. Kids soccer games start this week so we will soon be on that crazy schedule. We enjoy it, though, even if it is a little busy and sometimes a scheduling issue.

3. Can a thought be cliche? Well, this one probably is, but... do you ever see a sky like this and think "GOD"? Something about the rays behind the cloud and a silver lining...


This was a beauty of a sunrise the other morning.

4. Did you watch Lost? Ross just cut his own hair (apparently the 90+ degrees in Sept was too much and he was over the whole sweaty head thing). Anyway, with this haircut and weekend of not shaving, Ross looks a little like Jack Shepard.
Do you see it?


5. Two years ago, we moved here and Hurricane Ike travelled through and we lost power for 11 days!! I can't hear news of the hurricanes and see our wind blow and not think of cold showers and dark nights!! Yes, I said hurricane, and yes, we live in Ohio...

6. Speaking of living in our house for two years... I was thinking about it and realized that this is the longest I have lived in one house/dwelling since I was in high school! The longest time in any one location/city is four years. That is for my entire life... I wonder if my itch to move every so often will ever go away??

7. Zoey turns 8 this month. Craziness.

8. I gave the kids a piece of gum the other day (they hadn't had any in a while apparently), because I got sidetracked and when I came back to see what was happening, they both had swallowed it! They claimed they forgot that you don't swallow gum when you are done with it!! What did I do? I scared them with the whole seven years in your stomach thing of course...

9. The weather is weird. One day 92 degrees. The next day 72.

10. Some times this summer we watched Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on TV. We now have conversations like this...
Me: What do you want for your snack?
Kid: That would be C. Pretzels, final answer.