School Daze....

We are trying to settle into the new school year.....Here are some cute pictures !

"Why are you still taking my picture???"

My big boy ready for school.....

Mommy & Jude....


Yes, that is Jude with the Pokemon bag....ugh!

Jude waiting in line!

Avery is ready for school - if she gets to play all day!


Elise has her own style!!!

Elise with her teacher, Miss Jamie.

Elise & Avery

Elise before school.

Elise going into her class.

Okay....so this isn't a school picture but it is a cute puppy & kids shot!

Bathing Suits....

Every Friday morning I meet with a couple of ladies from Church at Panera Bread for coffee & a devotional. It has been really great. Honestly, at first I wasn't so sure about it but I really do enjoy the time. Often times we sit and just catch up about the weeks happenings and whatever craziness is going on in our lives. We are an unlikely group of friends.....quite a Motley Crew if you ask me. This week we all had to be somewhere pretty early so we were still chatting as we got our refills to go. I was telling them how I just bought a bathing suit for the first time in YEARS. I had made a Facebook update about it and there were several comments about how it was the end of summer and I wouldn't be using it. The truth is because I have a little extra "baggage" up top I can't just buy any bathing suit. I need one with built in equipment. The kind that Target doesn't sell. And it has not been our budget to spent $80-$90 on a bathing suit. So, kept the ill fitting one I've had for years and just didn't go swimming. LOL. Anyhoo...back to my story. I was telling the girls I bought a bathing suit from Lands End online. I did not try it on. I picked on out that I thought I would like and I bought it. I know....what woman does that? As we were talking bathing suit shopping, another woman: whom we have never met before, began telling us about her bathing suit woes and who she couldn't find one with an under wire to support her large chest. She said she went to Macy's and bought a Miraclesuit. She gave us a description and everything. After she left another woman gave me her thoughts on bathing suit shopping. She is not fond of it but said she was going to check out Land's End because I told her how I only paid $25 for a $90 bathing suit!!!! As I was walking out of Panera, I was thinking about how interesting it is that all women have an opinion about bathing suits. Strong enough opinions to discuss our boobs in public to strangers. I think it really comes from the dissatisfaction of our bodies. I don't think men think twice about putting on a bathing suit and taking off their shirts. But women....I don't know, I think for most of us it is difficult to expose ourselves. I don't know about you but I love the security of a loose pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. LOL. Well, in the end I did get my bathing suit and I like it as far as bathing suits go. I probably won't use it until next year...but next year I will be prepared! And I got a fabulous deal. BTW...the picture to the right is the bathing suit I bought. Yes, I got it in red. When I tried it on Jude looked at me and said, "you should have bought a black one"! Oh, my children know me so well. I just liked the red one so that is the one I got.

Now if I could just find a cheap cover up.........

Yesterday....Blueberries, Family, A Milestone, Puppy & A BIG Surprise!!!

Yesterday we went blueberry picking. We drove an hour to go to this blueberry farm. It is nice. You can pick your own berries for $1 a quart. There wasn't even someone there monitoring - they used the honor system and even had their little cash drawer sitting out on the table. How refreshing. That could NEVER happen where I live. While we were there we ran into my Aunt Debbie & Aunt Jeannie. How strange to run into them so far away at such a random place. This is my Aunt Debbie. It was her second trip to the blueberry farm!

While we were picking blueberries, Nana pulled Jude's first tooth. It was funny because he thought she was just going to wiggle it and she pulled it. He didn't even notice at first because he walked away and then noticed it was gone. He acted like he was mad but he really wasn't.....


After the blueberry picking we had to go find a store to buy diapers because we didn't bring any. That is The Miller Way. Then we went out to eat. When we got home that evening this is what was on the porch!!!!!!!

My cousin, Jason (some of you remember him because he used to have a blog...he's the prison guard), read my blog about the stray puppy, the Wii fund and all that. He had a Wii that he bought but "wasn't really that into it" & he decided he wanted to give it to my kids. I just can't even believe it. The kids were so excited they were jumping up and down! It has been a big week for the Miller family. Some people might not think this is a very big deal but it is almost overwhelming to me. I am feeling very blessed this week. Thank you Jason & Thank you to the mean person that left the little puppy for us!

Here are some more pictures of the puppy and other vacation events.....

This is from earlier this week, when we went fishing....

I asked my Mom to take a picture of Jake and I together. We aren't capable of taking a serious picture.....

The Dog....

Yesterday on Facebook I left a comment that we had to take our dog to the vet...everyone said the same thing..."You have a dog?" I promised a story and here it is.

Sunday we went to Big South Fork National Park. It was a great day. We did a little hiking, a little geocaching, a lot of nature seeing & we stopped at the visitors center and did a little chatting. It was really nice. BTW...the ranger asked where we were from. I told her NE Ohio. She said, "oh, ya'll had a little bear incident up there." I laughed. She asked if I got to see the bear (lol) but I told her I didn't. In fact, they have all kinds of bears here and I haven't seen ONE. Anyways...we went back to my parents house, ate dinner & goofed around a bit. I started looking on line at the geneology website for the area my family is from. They have it set up with a list of all the cemetaries and volunteers have scribed what is on every tombstone in each cemetary (well they aren't all done). There is a format for photos to be added. I was so excited but most of them don't have the photos. So....I loaded up a grumbling husband and tired kids to head to the closest cemetary to take pictures. It is very close to my parent's house. This is a picture of it:


It was very buggy out so we didn't stay long and decided to go back to the house. My parents live on a very country road. We always see interesting things on the road (turtles, snakes, rabbits, one time a fox, etc...). I tend to be on the lookout when we are driving for random vermon. Well, we were driving along and I saw this little puppy. Jake stopped and it looked scared. I tried to talk to it but it wouldn't come to me. It was by this overgrown driveway and we weren't sure if anyone still lived there. We decided to leave the puppy and go back to my parents. Later when they got home from church we asked them if anyone lived there and they said no. We told them about the puppy and explained that we thought somone dumped it off. It was almost getting dark at his point. We didn't have a leash or much dog stuff. My parents did have a dog (RIP) so they had a little food and a few items. But we didn't know what we were goint to do with this dog if we even caught the thing. So, we get in the car and go on a dog hunt. It was exactly where we left it. It was very timid but let Jake pick her right up. She was very scared and weak. We are pretty sure she had been out there for at least a couple days. You can see how skinny she is in this photo:

We gave her a bath because she is covered in ticks and fleas. I think the bath really helped with the fleas but she had about 20 ticks insided her ears. I picked them all out. And she has them all over her. And she has literally thousands of little tiny "seed ticks" all over her. Hundreds on her ears, legs, belly.... all over. We decided we didn't need to tie her up or anything. The first night after picking off ticks and bathing her I took off my clothes and hung them on the back porch. The next morning my Dad went out to the barn and she wasn't there. He thought she ran off but later he found her laying on the back porch by my clothing. Awwwwwww......Look how sweet she is:

I don't even like dogs....really.

But isn't she so cute?

So, Jake took her to the vet yesterday but they couldn't get her in so she is going back today. We have to find out if she is healthy enough to keep. We put some flea & tick stuff on her and instantly she started feeling better. She barked at my Dad and was chasing me a little. She really likes the kids. And of course the kids LOVE her. I think I told you before but in case I didn't.....my kids have been saving for a Wii. When we started approaching the $200 mark they decided it was a dog fund. I have been reluctant. This dog is not free - the vet bill and a kennel will surely eat up the Wii fund but she really is a rescue dog.

She doesn't have a name yet. Here are the choices.....

1. Willow (my idea)

2. Sunshine or Sunny (Elise's idea)

3. Cricket (my Dad's idea and Jude's favorite)

So, that is it....my dog story.

The Black Bear Saga continues.....

Here in Northeast Ohio we have a little Black Bear Drama going on. Last week a black bear was spotting near the main campus of Kent State University (my alma mater). Apparently it was rummaging through the trash behind Bob Evans on July 26th. That isn't really that close to the main campus but rumor has it some students attempted to feed it. Higher education paying off! My office is in Kent, right by the river. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the bear myself....until I looked at pictures of black bears! Yikes. They are HUGE. Well, the bear has stayed in the local news all week. Yesterday it was reported that it was in Streetsboro and was attempting to claw it's way into a house.



The authorities did see it and tried to shoot it with rubber bullets but the bear just ran away. I had many questions but after looking them up this is what I found...The black bear has been slowly increasing in population in Ohio. They had not been seen in many years but over the last 10 years the sightings have increased. I wondered if it is possible for it to be the same bear in Kent as the one in Streetsboro. I found that a bears home territory can be up to an 80 mile radius. The authorities keep telling everyone to call them if they see the bear. Why? Are they going to kill it? Capture it? Don't other people in other places live amongst the bears without problems? I am pretty sure we have enough deer for the bear to eat. Do they eat deer? I am so interested. Maybe I should go on a bear hunt. LOL. Only if I had a better camera. I could hunt and shoot the bear (with my camera) - sell the photos to the local paper and get rich. ha ha ha ha ha. I am only joking and just typing as I think things. Well, my Dad saw a black bear on his property. So, I could continue my bear hunt next week when I go to Tennessee. Which reminds me of something I heard a long time ago.... These guys (somewhere up north) were putting some substance out that lures bears, so they could shoot them. Couldn't the people in Streetsboro or Kent just do that, lure the bear and then capture the bear, feed him and then take him somewhere away from people?

In case you were wondering here are some black bear facts....

• Bears eat acorns, nuts, fruit & succulent greens. They will eat meat if those things are avalible.
  
• Bears are very intelligent. They have great memory and navigation skills.
• Most Black bears die due to human related causes. How sad is that?
• Bears can hibernate without food, water, going to the bathroom...for up to 7 months. They give birth while hibernating.
  
• Bear attacks on humans are very rare. Most bear related injuries come from people trying to feed bears. DUH.
• Bears only roar in the movies- not in real life.
• Bears are indangered species in Ohio - so you aren't allowed to shoot them.
  

Here is what to do if you encounter a BLACK bear.

• Do not look it in the eye.
• Talk in a soothing tone.
• Do not run.
  
• Back away slowly.
• And don't feed the bear!

While I was looking up bear info.... You MUST watch this ridiculous video!



Okay, I have to go fill my bird feeders and set some honey out.

For more info on the Ohio Black Bear & to see where I got the bear picture visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resource web site.

Thursday Thirteen...It has been a LONG time!

Thirteen things I am going to do while my family is out of town....

1. Shampoo the carpet. (this has become the running joke)
2. Get EVERYTHING ready for the big yard sale.
3. Deep clean & re-organize my kitchen.
4. Read a book....maybe two.
5. Bleach my outside rocking chairs.
6. My friend, Stephanie, is coming to stay with me for a couple of days - we are going to can (aka preserve) some stuff - not sure what yet.
7. Maybe do a little sewing....if I get motivated I have a ton of stuff (that I cut out but haven't finished) I can sell at my Yard Sale.
8. Buy all the school supplies for Jude & Elise (who is going to Pre-School this year).
9. Sort through the kids fall/winter clothes and assess what is needed for the school year.
10. Clean out the toys....must be done while kids are away.
11. Sort through old magazines.
12. Rent "The Reader" - since Jake does not want to see it but I do.
13. I might sleep.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Today is Jake's Birthday. It is our second family birthday this week. I still have leftover cake from Avery's - maybe I will just use it for Jake. LOL. He is not a cake person. But I would like to thank him for making my blog pretty. It took the flower photo in my flower bed and then edited it to make it pretty. I couldn't get it on my blog for nothin'. I gave up. Then the hero rode it....I am going to keep it like this for a while. At least until fall. Thank you Jake!

I took today off work to spend the day with the family. We were going to go Geocaching and then Jake & I were planning for the Aeros game this evening. It is raining and it is going to rain all day. Bummer. We could work on Garage Sale stuff. I am sure that is what Jake wants to do on his birthday.....

Last night we went for our evening walk - what we often do - around the block. There is this house that has been empty pretty much since we moved into the neighborhood. We have peaked in the windows and snooped around a few times. We noticed that it sold a few weeks ago.... We were by the house and I saw the new people were there. I was across the street and I said, "so when are you moving in?" The guy looked up and to my surprise it was an old friend from college. He was part of "my gang" of psych buddies. We took a bunch of classes together and hung out a lot. Well, he, his wife Ellen and their two children are practically neighbors. I am so excited about this. I just love when I run into old friends who know my cast of characters and the old days. I don't know why....I just do.

Oh, while I was writing this Elise came up to me and started asking about Jake's birthday. I told her we don't have a birthday cake. She said, "we can use Avery's!" Like mother, like daughter!

A Picture....

wordless wednesday

What am I thinking????

I have been thinking about a bunch of stuff lately. I would like to blog in detail about each thing but I don't have the time to give each the proper attention it deserves. For now I will give you my free flow thinking....

Most of you have already heard that Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Cavs! In Ohio we are very excited about that....after all the Cleveland sports scene remains bleak with the Indians suffering through yet another losing season and the Browns loss of yet another player over his own dumb actions off the field. Don't even get me started. Anyhoo, on the way to work this morning I heard that Shaq is looking to purchase a home in Hudson. That is so exciting. Not that I really go into Hudson that often but to think I could run into Shaq at the grocery store is kinda exciting.

Jake's birthday is next week. I was talking to the kids about what we should get him. We had a very similar conversation around Father's Day. The initial suggestions were Reese's Cups, pop & beer (funny since he rarely drinks beer - not sure why they keep suggesting it). After giving it some thought Jude decided we should buy Daddy a Wii. He made sure to say he wants me to pay for it and doesn't want me to dip into the Wii fund (the money the kids have been saving for a Wii). Then they could spent the Wii money they already saved on a dog. Clever....

Politicians are irritating me. Local, State & Federal.

I am so over celebrity news. Michael Jackson was a human. He had to die sometime. Sad that he left children. But why is the music community so devastated? The man hadn't contributed for years and years. And everyday people a little nutty over this thing. It is not like you ever knew him or if you even had the chance to meet him that he would have acknowledged your existence. I say, get a CD and pretend he is still alive. And don't even get me started on Jon & Kate.... What a HUGE disgrace. The exploit their children on TV and air all their dirty laundry. They must be horrible people. And I am sick of seeing magazines with his sorry face on it, along with his new little tartlet. I never watched the show, but had always planned too. Now, I won't.

In case you are wondering.... I am sticking to my diet. I have only cheated a couple of minor times....both in the middle of the night when I woke up starving and was still mostly asleep. And I haven't exercised at all....I will. I just haven't had the time. Doesn't doing dishes, chasing kids and running up and down the stairs count as exercise? And the water thing is killing me. Now I have to go pee 10 times a day, which is difficult when I am out and about. It is my policy not to use a clients bathroom. Plus I had to get up THREE times last night to go.....it is like when I was preggo (and no I am not....thanks for wondering).

Well, that is it for now....I must do work.

Cutest Baby Contest...

So, if you don't already know....I entered Avery in a "Cutest Baby Contest". Please vote for her.
Here is the "formal" invite.....

My Baby, Avery (and yes, she is still my baby) is in the Beautiful Babies Contest! I need you to let everyone know how beautiful my baby is! It’s quick & easy to register (Just 3 steps!) Please help Avery win the grand prize of $5000 and a professional photo shoot! Voting is on now through Monday, August 4 Midnight EST. Click this link to go directly to Avery’s photo!

I am not sure why I picked this picture but I did and I can't change it now.....

Let me know if you vote (please).

I won't even try....

....to catch up. But here is a cute picture from today. I was working in the garden and Avery was playing in the fire pit ashes. She ended up getting an impromptu bath. She gets a lot of those these days.
Today I finally downloaded all the pictures I've taken since July 1. I had 369 pics on my camera. There are some really good ones. And some really, REALLY bad ones. After careful inspection of every last one of me & a detailed critic - I have decided to begin a diet tomorrow. Last year after my appendix surgery I did do weight watchers for a minute but then I had all the adverse effects of eating all that extra wheat.....so I gave up. Starting tomorrow: I will exercise, even if it is only for 15 minutes. I will not eat anything I am allergic to. I will drink lots of water. I will avoid sugar. Those are simple rules I think I can keep to. I will keep you posted. In the mean time.....Here are a few more pics.

I took this picture while standing on my front porch. I was about 4 feet away from this woodpecker.

These are from our trip up to Lake Erie last weekend. It was fun.

Talking Politics with the Amish....

If you are new to reading my blog you may want to start with this post.....

This past weekend Paul & Linda brought Jude home. It was nice that we didn't have to go all the way back to WV or even half way to get him. The plan was we would do something up here when they came. We thought about the options: Akron Zoo, Akron Art Museum, Aeros game, Stan Hywett, etc.... But since we are saving our money for other things right now & we were unsure of the weather - we decided it was time for a trip to visit the Amish relatives! I am always up for an Amish Adventure. So, we loaded up the vans and headed down to Roy & Lavina's. Of course, Linda called them first to make sure it was okay. They promptly called back and said they would love to have the gang! When we got there, one of Jake's many cousins, Robert, was there with his wife (I don't know her name). We sat out on the porch with them along with Roy & Lavina. Roy is a hoot. Seriously. He makes fun of Paul for moving to West Virginia and talks to him in a fake southern accent....too funny. So, we are just sitting there and Paul announces that I have some strong political opinions (pretty controversial ones, as well). That sparked a conversation that I am still thinking about 3 days later! First of all - a little background....on Friday the House voted to pass HB 2454 - otherwise known as the Cap & Trade Bill or "America's Clean Energy Bill". Don't even get me started on it. I will probably blog about it at a later date. I won't go into all the details but basically it is going to increase the cost of electricity 5-10xs more than we pay now. It is a big push to make everyone go "green". The government totally pushed this through. 300 pages were added at 3:00 A.M. and the vote wasn't even 24 hours later. The Bill has all kinds of other stuff added to it that doesn't even have to do with Energy - like money for Acorn, Fannie & Freddie. Anyhoo....I am getting to fired up. Here is the thing....many - wait - MOST people don't even know this is going on. But the Amish - well they do. They are very upset about it. Even though they don't use electricity they are smart enough to know this will effect the price of EVERYTHING. Well, we talked about that and after I got all fired up they asked what kind of job I do - they thought I was some sort of politician or something. LOL. Paul did tell them I voted for Obama. I thought I was going to get excommunicated right then and there but they said he is better than Hillary (good thing Paul didn't tell them I voted for her and even went to see her!). Robert's wife did say some nice things about Obama - I enjoyed her perspective since I am becoming somewhat jaded when it comes to him. Again....another blog for another day. I will say I have decided to leave the Democratic party. For now I will be independent.

On another interesting topic....Jake's cousin, Emma (the one that came to my house) and her family have left their parents church and have joined a new church. It is called "The Newest New Order Amish". Seriously. And they are allowed to have telephones and electricity. I am so surprised. Oh, and Emma is pregnant again.

The kids had a good time. It was Avery's first time there. And since we were there last, Jonathon (Jude's cousin, who he used to refer to as 'his friend who's dad has a long beard') has learned to speak English. Finally he and Jude can understand one another. Here he is....

Here is Avery eating his popcorn. She didn't want her own....she wanted to eat his! And, of course, he let her.....

I did get Emma's number and plan to keep in contact with her. Also, Robert's Wife invited us down and said we can have a cookout. I hope we can sometime. I just love going down there.

The Big Reveal....

Wow....what a project. Remember I said we were going to redo the bedrooms? Well, we did. I am so excited about the results. It was quite a lot of work, though. Much more than I expected. We probably made 10 trips to the home improvement stores last week between the two of us.....

The girls room before....

Misc. furniture before...

The results...

I let Avery put her own stickers on...

"Free" shelves I picked up while curbside shopping....and check out my make over toy box - that is the one pictured above!

I covered the switch plates. Thank you Martha for the skills!!!

New shelves...

And can you believe it??? I even hung curtains! I also used an old plant stand as a stuffed animal holder...
You will have to go over to Jake's blog for before pictures of Jude's room...



Jude's new comforter won't be in until Thursday but his old sleeping bag is a perfect match!
A "new" bookcase....
Jude loves his new space...

That is his mice....
I redid this too...

When Jude got home from West Virginia and saw his room he said, "Thank you Mommy for making me my own room...." How sweet is that?