I'm Old - Part One

So, I'm starting a new post, this will be the first installment.  They are going to be things that remind me I'm not quite as young and hip as I used to be!

Yesterday while Lyla took her nap I decided to watch a movie.  I watched The Vow.  It had Rachel McAdams in it and I just love her.  It was a good movie.

The WHOLE ENTIRE TIME I watched the movie I kept thinking, I'm so glad that Josh Hartnett is doing movies again, I always liked him, he is so cute.  And I just happen to not hit stop before the credits rolled.

I see the credits.

It wasn't Josh Hartnett..... It was Channing Tatum.

Yeah.... I'm sure that is probably the equivalent of calling Justin Bieber Justin Timberlake... at least I can still tell those two apart!

I am old.  :(

5 Things Friday - 5 Favorite Scary Movies

In honor of Halloween, my 5 Favorite Scary Movies

1.  Halloween
Michael Myers really makes me want to pee my pants, then he makes me laugh, then he jumps out of nowhere and I pee again!

2.  Saw
The Saw movies just freak me out.  There is so much thought behind them.  And I tell myself its just a movie, nobody is actually doing these things to people, but then I think, well some sick minded person came up with this story....

3.  Scream
Ok, not scary at all, but I love them because they take me right back to high school and all the greatness of the 90s!

4.  The Shining
This movie gives me nightmares but I love it!  Red Rum... Twins on tricylces... Here's Johnny...  Love Love Love this movie!

5.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Chainsaws really really scare me!  Anytime I'm at a haunted house and the chainsaw guy comes that is the end of me!  It takes me forever to calm down after that!

We Decided to Adopt

After a lot of thinking and many discussions, we decided that it would be good for us to adopt.  And after some research I decided that our family isn't ready for another baby, so we decided to adopt a girl who is a little older, 3 to be exact. 

So Friday morning Gary left for West Virginia for the weekend.  After worked I picked up Lyla and we went to the pet store.  (If you thought I meant adopt a human, you really don't know me very well!)  At the pet store we met our new family member!  A sweet little cat who is all grey and just wonderful.  We have named her Zoe!  Lyla and I bring her home and we are eating dinner and Zoe is scoping out the place.

After a little bit, I can't find her.  I can't find her ANYWHERE.  I had run out to my car really quick so now I'm thinking oh no... she got outside.  I was just sick over it.  But it was getting late and I had to get Lyla to bed.  So I went to bed too thinking hopefully she is just scared and she will be out waiting for us in the morning.

Saturday morning Lyla and I get up.  No Zoe.  I can't figure out where in the house she could be other than outside.  As soon as the sun came up I kept going outside and looking around.  My mom was on her way up to help.  Whenever she got there I had a thought.

There is a hole in my dining room wall that my dad cut so that he could get to the pipes to fix our leaking bathtub.  We never totally covered it up.  He has had to get in there a few times since so it just never seemed like a big deal.  We put a piece of furniture in front of it and forgot about it.  I told my mom, I bet she is in that hole.

So we move the furniture out and there she is looking up at me!  I was so relieved that she wasn't outside!  So mom runs down to the basement and tries to get her out from down there since I couldn't reach her through the pipes from the hole.  Well she got spooked and ran down along the side of the bathtub.

I spent the next two days trying to get her out...  Tried EVERYTHING.  Food, leaving her alone, calling her, making a lot of noise to scare her out.  Nothing worked.  I started to think maybe she is stuck.  Or worse, what if she dies in this hole and we have to cut another hole in a different wall to get her out?!?!?!  I was super stressed out.  Making me even more stressed was the fact that Gary was going to be home soon and I didn't have her out yet.  Gary wasn't 100% on board with getting a pet and I had to really convince him it was a good idea.  I didn't think he was going to be real happy if this pet cost him more home improvements....

Gary got home Sunday evening.  He walks in the house, goes to the dining room hole.  He says here kitty kitty...  I'm rolling my eyes at him.  This is not going to work you idiot, I have been doing that for two days!  Oh but don't you know... out she comes!  Gary = the cat whisperer!

So happy ending!  Now we have our Zoe and we covered up the hole!  She is a wonderful new addition to our little family and we all love her!

Our Weekend with the Canons

We spent the weekend with one of our favorite families - the Canons!

Gary and Jim grew up together.  Jim married Karla.  Karla and I were instant friends.  They had Naomi who we adore.  Then they had Nathan and we had Lyla 2 months later.  All the kids get along fantastically!

I think it is so rare to find a circumstance where two families can be such good friends.  Karla and I can do our thing, Gary and Jim do their thing, the kids all play.  Its just perfection.

And this is why it kills me to say that they are moving.  Not just a little move.  To Canada.  And not just across the border, across the border and really far away.  A 40 hour drive.  A $1000 plane ticket. 

Its going to be hard to have them so far away.  I'm so excited and happy for them.  But the selfish part of me is sad that they are leaving us. 

But this weekend we got to spend it at their house for one last time.  We do this every fall and always look forward to it.  We do get to see them once more before the leave, so this weekend was all fun!  I'm saving all my tears for the next time!  ;-)

Losing the Ones We Love

Its been a rough few days for some very important people in my life. 

My friend Stef's Grandma lost her battle with breast cancer.  My friend Erin's Pap passed away and Gary lost his Grandpa this morning. 

I think losing a grandpartent as an adult is harder than when you are younger.  Its wonderful because you have had the extra years with them, but at the same time you become so used to them being around.  I think at one point you sort of forget how old they are and just feel like they will always be there.

Dying is a part of life. But it doesn't make it any less sad or any easier for those of us who are left behind to start our next chapters without the ones we love.

I love these girls and their families like my own.  My heart aches for them right now.  They will get through this, they are strong.  But as Stef put it, things won't ever be the same ever again.

2012 Walk to End Alzheimer's

My family participated in the 2012 Walk to End Alzheimer's today in memory and in honor of my Grandma.  It was so special for us all to spend the day together!  Here is just a glimpse of the fun:

5 Things Friday - Pumpkin Overload

I love pumpkin stuff as much as the next person, but really, I think its gotten a little out of control this year! 

5 Random Things I have Seen with PUMPKIN

1.  Pumpkin Spice Milk
Milk... yeah.  I don't know.  MAYBE in coffee instead of creamer?  But if you are putting it in coffee, just use the creamer.  I don't like milk to begin with so I can't even fathom this.

2.  Pumpkin Yogurt
I'm pretty picky about yogurt.  I like vanilla, key lime and sometimes blueberry.  I'm not willing to even try pumpkin.  No thank you.

3.  Pumpkin Liquor
I'm not really in to drinking straight liquor.  So what are you going to mix this with?  Only thing I can think of is coffee like you do with Bailey's.  Can you see a trend here?  I like pumpkin in coffee... end of story!

4.  Pumpkin Marshmallows
Yeah......

5.  Cinderella Pumpkins
So Lyla and I are at Walmart and they have all of those big cardboard bins full of pumpkins.  One of them has Cinderella all over the side of it.  Lyla is all over it.  Look Mommy a PRINCESS!!!  I'm thinking, hmmm, wonder what's in that bin... go up and look.... its pumpkins.  These marketing people are genius!  How many parents are going to get wrangled in to buying these pumpkins just because Cinderella is on the outside of the bin???  I'm lucky Lyla is 2 and I could just walk away.

All I'm asking is can't we just keep the pumpkin to coffee, cookies and rolls?  Isn't that enough?  Those three things I LOVE!  (hint hint Em, I sure would love a pumpkin roll, no nuts, please & thank you) 

Let Me Blow Your Mind!

Ok... I will be first to admit I watch a lot of strange shows and that's the only reason this makes any sense to me.  But let me tell you, these two have to be the same person!

Exhibit A - Hank Baskett
He is married to Kendra Wilkerson (the girl who used to be Hugh Hefner's girlfriend).  On their reality show (yes I watch it, don't judge) Hank is trying to get in to the acting business.  He used to play football, but I guess he isn't that good, he doesn't have a job.

Exhibit B - Disney Jr Choo Choo Soul Train
Choo Choo Soul Train is this little 5 minute segment between shows on Disney Jr.  Hank Baskett is the DJ on the train.  Ok well they don't call him Hank.  But really, I think he found his acting gig!

Told you I would blow your mind!  :)  

Growing up is hard to do...

I feel like I am having a lot of transitions in my life right now.  And most of it has to do with my friendships.  Some of it I'm pretty excited about, some of it is bittersweet and some of it just makes me downright sad.  The thing is, when you are in your late 20's (remember I'm not 30 yet and I refuse to even say "30" until I am!), its really hard to even find time for friendships.  I work full time.  I have a 2 year old to chase around and take care of.  I have a wonderful husband who I try to spend time with.   A wonderful husband who is also working a second job at the moment, so that is cutting in to our social lives.  Bottom line, things are just getting complicated!

I feel lucky that I have a group of girls who I truly do think of as my "Best" friends.  I know that I can trust them no matter what.  I know that we all do all that we can for each other.  But we are all busy right now.  Two of my best friends are planning their weddings.  One is moving very far away (I can't even think/talk about it without getting upset).  One is busy raising two kids and working full time on top of other family commitments.  I guess its just that at this point in our lives, your priorities change a bit.  Not that we all love each other any less, but we just can't do things like we used to.

I'm not going to lie.  I'm bummed out right now.  I know a big factor is the change of the season.  I hate fall.  I try to like it every year.  I try to pump myself up about pumpkin coffee and wearing sweaters and watching football.  But I hate it.  I hate the darkness, I hate the cold.  I start to just feel very isolated.  And that's when I start to really miss my friends.

I am excited that I have made a new friend recently.  Her little girl and Lyla go to the same daycare.  We live really close to each other too.  So its been really fun getting to know someone new.  And we don't have to really entertain the girls when we are together because they just run off and do their own thing.  So that's been great and I'm really enjoying spending time with her.

So I guess this is growing up.  Long gone are the days of spending the entire weekend with a girlfriend just goofing off.  Long gone are the Saturday nights closing down the bar and sleeping in on Sunday.  Long gone are the 2 hour phone conversations every evening after work.   This whole being a grown up thing isn't all its cracked up to be...