Car repairs

So I dropped our van off for repairs Tues morning. We have had some ongoing issues with the driver's side door not functioning properly and have taken it in 5 times since February. They haven't managed to fix it and said they needed to order parts two times and then said it was fixed twice when it wasn't. So needless to say when we called to see if the part had come in (since of course they didn't call us like they said they would) and the guy said they would need the van for 2-3 days for repair work, I politely told him he would be providing us with a loaner. He said he would talk with his boss..and I said that's fine but we will still be having a loaner since it was their fault this repair has taken so long. They gave us one which is fortunate because it is now Friday and we still don't have the van back. The airbag light came on for a second time and apparently they had to order yet another part. I wonder if we will have it back by this weekend..I am beginning to doubt. We do have a loaner van which is good but I forgot to get the garage door opener out of our van so I have to get out and open and close the garage door every time we leave. Of course that's completely my fault and I am VERY THANKFUL to have a loaner van. Being without any method of transportation for his long would have been a big deal. So thank you Toyota for hopefully taking care of my van door. If you redeem yourselves and do better from here on out I may not buy a Honda the next time around.

New blog appearances...

Sorry our blog keeps changing. I want something different but taking time to find one that I like that works with everything that I want to have on our blog seems to be difficult. So I went back to the original one we used to use. Maybe I can find another one that I like but until I do, I guess this will be our default.

Weekend Activities

We spent this weekend being quite busy. Jeff went to a concert friday night and helped chaperone the youth group at church. I went to play my guitar as part of the women's worship band at a women's retreat. We were both up late friday night and then it was off to an early soccer game saturday for mackenzie. She did well and her team won. She was happy. I went home and Jeff was off to play flag football with some friends. By the time he got home, mowed the lawn and showered it was time to go to a to a friend's house for a barbecue. We had a great time there, except that Ellie got stung:( Poor little girl. Our pastor's wife suggested we put a penny on it as she read on the internet that helped. She seemed to be fine 15 minutes later and now you can barely see it so we think it worked pretty well. I don't think I have ever been stung. I guess there's a possibility that I got stung when I was really little and don't remember it but I have no recollection of ever being stung. So she's the first for our children and honestly probably handled it better than either Mackenzie or Ainsley might! She was a Trooper and was fine the rest of the night. We had a fire and smores and that just makes a great night:)
Today we started a new curriculum at church for the elementary ages and Jeff was the large group teacher. I think that all went well and we are going to really like the new curriculum. Then it was off to Wendy's to make up for last week's missed opportunity. Mackenzie had her friend Madeline over for the day and Ainsley went to Madeline's house to play with her sister Ashley. So we swapped for the day and then the cooked dinner for us. Burritos..yum:) Now we are watching the Orioles play the Yankees in the last game at Yankee Stadium. For those of you who don't know Yankee Stadium is being replaced with a new Yankee stadium that is bigger and better. We of course are hoping for a big Yankee loss:) Once we download pics, we will post some from the barbecue as lots of the kids were in the hammock. Very cute pics!

My friend's blog

I haven't posted a lot this week since we got the remains of Hurricane Ike. It hasn't been that I haven't wanted to but I have been following my friend's blog while they are adopting their 3 daughter from China. I keep getting so caught up in her blog that I forget to post on ours! If you want to follow a really cool journey, check out http://ourchinastarfish.blogspot.com/. I am truly amazed by them and all that they have done. They are such an encouragement to me personally when I start to feel discouraged.

This week has been pretty busy. Jeff was out of town for an overnight and then had a business dinner so it seems we haven't seen a lot of him. And the kids probably think they haven't seen a lot of me! I had band practice last night for tonight's women's retreat that our band was asked to play at. All went well and I had a good time playing at it tonight. I am now finally home after getting lost not once but TWICE!! The church was about a 45 minute drive for me and I didn't have any problems on the way there. It was way out on Rte 27 past Alexandria, KY and I had never driven out there before but my google directions looked pretty clear. However, it was light out which apparently makes ALL the difference! On the way back home it was dark and I was on my cell phone. That also apparently makes all the difference! Note to self..I should not drive in a new area after dark talking on my cell. I got completely turned around twice. I am still recovering from the shock:) Jeff is helping out with a youth group function at church tonight so I got one of my regular babysitters to watch the girls. I was going to call and tell her when I left to expect me home in about 45 minutes. Fortunately for her I didn't or she probably would be on the phone with the police sending out a search party for me! I managed to get home 45 minutes later than I anticipated but I think I now know my way around Alexandria!!:)

So the rest of the week was pretty good. The girls finally got back to school on Wednesday of this week. They had Monday and Tuesday off due to the power outages from hurricane Ike. They enjoyed themselves immensely and played with their friends a lot. They were sad when Wed came around and they had to go back to school, but I was glad as it was picture day. They all got their pictures taken on Wed and I am looking forward to seeing all of them except Ellie's! My neighbor, who helped out with picture day, informed me that Ellie had a bit of a fit about having her picture taken so she she isn't actually smiling but grimacing or something like that..:( Oh well that's how it goes. She usually like's having her picture taken but it has to be on her terms..such is the case with many things with Ellie!! She is learning how to share and take turns at preschool and seems to be making some strides in these areas. Her teacher told me she had a good day on Wed. She must have left out the picture taking experience:) Mackenzie and Ainsley said they smiled for their pictures though so at least we will have two good pictures! And now it is time for bed..already past my bedtime!

A Very Windy Day...

Today was our annual P&G day at King's Island. It started off bright and sunny as we headed to King's Island. We got an early start and left the house around 9:15 and were there by 10. The girls got lots of riding rides in and had a blast. Ellie did pretty well considering it was her first trip to an amusement park. She did have some moments or being irritated with waiting in line but overall was great. She really liked the rides too! I think her favorite was the mini coaster but of course that's my favorite too. Or should be say...that's about all I can handle:) Jeff took the older girls on most of the rides they could go on and Mackenzie got some new ones in this year. She actually rode the vortex with Jeff. I was shocked when they came back and told me what they went on...how she could come from my womb is astonishing!! Ainsley of course could not ride most of those rides as she was too short though I am certain that if she were taller, she probably would have ridden them. She did do the log ride with Jeff and Mackenzie and a spinning ride that Jeff would really like to forget! He felt pretty sick after that one but I have to say I volunteered and he said he was ok..I did a bunch of the kiddie rides with Ellie and Ainsley and then some they did on their own if they could. A great day of rides and they had a blast. We were glad we got them there as soon as it opened however as later in the afternoon we got the remains of Hurricane Ike and they actually shut the park down. We were close to ready to leave anyway as they girls were getting tired from the constant wind blowing sticks, twigs, and leaves into their face and eyes. They had shut several rides down and we were getting ready to get some ice cream when they said they were shutting down the park. Apparently from what we heard a woman got hit by a tree. There was tons of debris flying around so we were going to leave but that prompted us to go before getting ice cream:( So we decided to stop at Wendy's for dinner and get frosties...however no such luck:( By the time we got to the Wendy's in Florence, KY the power was out everywhere and they were closed. We however haven't lost any power and were able to watch the Patriots beat the Jets!!! Go patriots!! So we had pancakes and ice cream here at the house...cheaper and probably better:) So a very fun and eventful day for all..when I get the pictured uploaded from our camera I will post some. Oh and by the way...I have always thought that P&G hired bright and upstanding citizens to work for their company. Today has proven otherwise...they are hoodlums. When they closed the park, of course all 6,000 plus people are leaving at the same time...so lots of people. Are they all leaving through the standard means of exiting? No...they are driving EVERYWHERE!! They leave through the exits, the entrances and all other possible means of exit. Across medians and all other sorts of grass..insane! But we did arrive home in one piece for which I am thankful:)

Already Thursday?

It just continues to amaze me how fast the weeks fly by! Ellie has been doing a bit better with her new schedule and is getting used to napping at 11 before school starts. She doesn't get her normal amount of sleep but she does get at least some which I think is helping. She has been less fussy and has been able to handle more this week which is good. Mondays are still rough but that's ok. I have had a busy week as I just started the HR Block tax course this week. I have wanted to take the class for several years and it has never worked out schedule wise. But we decided that I would take it this year so jeff is helping out with the kiddos and I am taking the class every Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:30-9:30. It is an amazing amount of information that we are given but I think I am liking it. I am learning more and more that being a perfectionist isn't always a good thing! But sometimes I just have to let some things slide as I can't do it all. I am also preparing to do some teaching at our children's ministry training next Monday. And then I have a women's retreat that the band I am involved with is playing at and so I have been practicing music. Two of those things will end soon and life will slow back down thankfully as I am not one to want to be going a thousand miles a minute But I can handle it for a couple of weeks. We haven't decided whether the girls will be doing Awana this coming year or not. It starts back up in October and they both would like to do it but it is a little bit of a drive so we shall see. Other than that life is moving along. They are still enjoying school, swim lessons, gymnastics and Mackenzie has a couple of weeks left of soccer.

Tears and whining

Well this adjustment to preschool has been a bit rough for Ellie. She starts the mornings a bit rough by falling apart at the table over my correcting her speech and it just goes downhill from there. The loss of her afternoon nap has had a major impact on her and we are hoping that she adjusts soon! I have been trying to get her down for a mid-morning nap from 11-12:15 and she has been napping but she is still quite whiny. I have been asking her preschool teachers how she is doing and though she seems to be adjusting to preschool apparently she whines a lot at school too. So I am trying to figure out how to best help her adjust and not whine. If any of you have any suggestions I would be happy to entertain them!! They have said that this adjustment is "normal" for the younger kids since they are used to having naps. Ugh! On a positive note though she understands a whole lot more than what she can express. They told me she is able to match colors and I know she can identify at least 7-10 letters of the alphabet which is great. And the most exciting news of all...she is FINALLY able to get herself onto the potty without the use of a stool!!!! Now I know for some of you that doesn't seem to big but for her...HUGE! She hates stools in general. I think she feels unsteady and insecure on them and has practically refused to use them. Which in turn means I have to assist her in going to the bathroom every time she goes. Not a huge deal but we have been working on her being more independent in some of her skills. Now if she would only get the concept of not pulling out half the roll of toilet paper, we would be all set!
Ainsley is still loving kindergarten and is still quite concerned about being late. We were running a bit behind yesterday as is usual when we have nothing to do. And I thought we might be cutting it pretty close. She was in tears about not being able to get in the door. We actually weren't late but since the door was closed (because of the extreme heat) she thought we were and just fell apart. I had to actually open the door and show her the kids were all still there. I wonder if this was Jeff as a child..because I am certain that it wasn't me!:) Other than that all is well in kindergarten land. She has definitely gotten in a routine and is enjoying it.
Mackenzie is enjoying school too. She was placed in an advanced group for reading/math/spelling/writing and I think it will be good for her as it challenges her a bit more. She actually changes teachers for this advanced group and I had to laugh as she is ALL drama. She gets home from school on Tues and tells me that she went to her new teacher for the first time that day and the teacher made them write until her hand was about to fall off! I told her that school was about learning to read, write, etc...and her explanation was it was unnecessary to write that much!:) She is still obsessed with books and it so much like me it is mind boggling. Punishment for her is taking away her books and it can be quite effective. She had sped up her morning routine since I won't allow her read until she is completely ready for school. For this I am thankful, since she is also like me in her puttering and dilly dallying and getting ready for school seems to take her forever. I don't remember being like that getting ready for school but I tend to be like that now. Make sure the table is cleaned and the kitchen is picked up before I can actually leave the house regardless of whether we are running late or not. I am trying to get better but it is still a struggle sometimes!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a pretty nice weekend this past weekend. Saturday Mackenzie had her third soccer game and she did great. The team won. Even though she didn't score this time, she really played well as did the whole team. They are starting to look like a team:) We had friends over on friday night. All the kids watched Nim's Island and the adults hung out and played cards. I found I may need some more practice at Euchre! The rest of Saturday was fairly relaxing...until the evening. Jeff was invited to a Dayton Dragons baseball game and so he was gone for the evening. The girls and I had plans for a girl's night but after making a quick trip to the store, I had to send them to bed early because of their behavior. They were none to pleased but I reminded them that they were given plenty of chances and that they hadn't changed their behavior. We were all sad but especially Mackenzie and Ainsley, who were really looking forward to it. I stuck my ground and hopefully at some point they learn that constantly irritating each other gets them nowhere fun. Or maybe not!
Sunday we had church and then Mackenzie had a friend over from church. In the evening we had a sitter come and watch the kids as we went out to watch the WEBN fireworks at a friend's condo. She and her sister rented out the clubhouse and had a shindig there. The clubhouse overlooks the Ohio River where the set the fireworks off but we were a ways down the river. We could see them but not hear them. It was a fun night and we are thinking of getting a hotel next year in downtown Cincinnati and bringing the girls as they would love it I think.
Monday we took the girls to the zoo. They had a lot of fun and did very well. We were there for almost 5 hours and by the time we got home were hot, Hot and HOT. It has been in the 90's the last few days. I managed to do some serious trimming of my rosebushes. That took a long while but Ainsley helped me so that was nice of her:) She did actually trim some of the dead flowers off but I had to continually remind her that they had thorns and eventually she decided it was too hot to be outside any more! And we ended the day by all watching Nim's Island and eating popcorn. A fun and relaxing weekend.