Sam in the Doghouse, and a Visit with Elmo

I found my husband in bed with another woman a few days ago...I took a photo to show everyone what kind of man he really is.

For those of you that don't know, this is our beagle Libby. She takes my spot the moment I get out of bed.

The next photo is of Katie with Libby. Here Libby is intimidating Katie into petting her. It sort of goes like this..."I'm sitting on you, holding you down...if you don't pet me, you will be licked promptly."

Ok, enough about that darn Libby beagle. We went to see Elmo and Friends today at the Scottrade Center. It was a great Sesame Street Live production. As you can see, Patrick had a great time. Gwen, Sam and I had a great time as well. We had club suite seats (read: our own private bathroom and we were away from everyone else's happy and/or crying children.) Patrick waved at the characters often and kept saying, "Hi Cookie Monster!" He was adorable.

It's a New World After All...

I couldn't let this day pass without marking it in this blog. Barack Obama was inaugurated as the President of the United States of America. Woot! I acknowledge that this was remarkable because he is the first African-American person elected to this position. What has struck me more though is that this man is honest, genuine. I think that he is going to be a different kind of President. He is different in the way he handles himself. He knows what he knows and more importantly, he knows what he doesn’t know. He seeks advice from others. I don’t know, he’s just awesome. I know he’s coming into quite a mess, but he will make progress.

Sam and I watched the whole she-bang today. It was crazy how many people were there. Estimates were 2 million. Aretha Franklin’s bow was a little…not little. Malia and Sasha were super cute…I loved the orange gloves. Michelle’s dress for the day was beautiful and classic. With the last ball arrival scheduled for 2:35am, they will be exhausted. I hope they wore comfy shoes today!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Well it's too darn cold to do anything!...even typing is risky. Who knows? My fingers could break off at any moment. I came up to my mom's house this morning because our internet is not working at the house. The lake is frozen over and is very pretty. Me, Dad and Andy walked out on the lake. I was too chicken to get more than "knee deep." There are neat crystals on the top of the ice...

My friend Katie has been out of the country in Guatemala since January 7th. She's on a mission trip with some WIU folks. Anyway, I'm ready for her to get home. And I'll admit I'm a bit jealous she's in shorts and T-shirts while we're freezing our butts off! So Katie, if you're reading this, COME HOME! Surely you're looking forward to these lovely sub-zero wind chills?!

We're keeping busy in this post-Christmas time. Sam has taken over as the treasurer for the PBPA, the local police union chapter. He and I are also both on the committee for the Policeman's Ball. Emily is the chair of the committee and it's going to be a rockin' event this year. For those of you that are interested. It will be May 16th at the Holiday Inn in Alton. I promise a fun night with lots of great silent auction items.

I am the vice-president of the YWCA Board of Directors...life is so much quieter since my term as president ended. My inbox is definitely, happily emptier and my cell phone is using way less minutes! I am also co-chairing the Women of Distinction and Men of Distinction Luncheons (May 28th and August 6th respectively) for the YWCA Board of Directors.

Sam is enjoying shooting at the Alton Pistol and Rifle Club downtown. He is in a .22 league and shoots on Wednesday nights when he isn't working. As for my free time, well potty training Patrick and nursing Eva is pretty much what I do these days. While at times I feel bogged down by motherhood, I'm trying very hard to enjoy it all. Someday I'll look back and miss it.

Well, we're keeping busy and enjoying life. This band leader must sign off for now...

The Hooligans in 2009

I won't dare to call what follows "resolutions;" it seems as if that word is cursed...at least as far as I'm concerned. Instead, a vague plan of what we hope to accomplish this year.

Eva: growing, staying healthy, continuing to sleep through the night, continuing to be a beautiful, sweet baby girl.

Patrick: potty training (already in progress!), continuing to learn colors, shapes, numbers, trying not to grow up too fast and break his mommy's heart.

Sam: I have consulted him on this; in other words, these are his plans/goals, not my plans for him! MAINTAIN; he's very happy with where things are right now. Be a good role model for his kids. To do a good job at his new position of Treasurer with the PBPA. Play less WoW...ok, I snuck that one in there!

Kate: continuing to learn how to be a good mom, finally getting serious about my job, finally getting serious about my health (and my family's), getting my dogs on walks more often, fixing my hair more often (if you spend any time around me, you'll know that while trivial, this is a much needed goal), take a little time for myself once in a while, recognize that I can't do everything, try to be on time, or at least less late for meetings and such.

We got Christmas put away on New Year's Day. Contrary to the promise I made in a previous post to do so while Patrick was at school, we did it with him at home and awake. He was a big help...ok, so not really. He took LOTS of ornaments off the tree; he even broke a few. No worries, we needed to pare down anyway. At any rate, our house is back to a normal level of chaos.

So the holidays are offically over and we're happy for life to be settling back into a routine. Best wishes to you all on a happy and successful 2009!

2008 - Year in Review

As I sit down to write this, I realize that I can't remember much from 2008. Perhaps this is because life has gotten so hectic that I don't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday. This sparce recollection won't be broken down in months or anything so organized, but more likely haphazard as I recall it.

I became the President of the Board of Directors for the YWCA of Alton. For a while I felt pretty important, but quickly realized that I was just the biggest sucker in the room. We kept the organization afloat during a very turbulent time, so I'm proud of us for that. I will say that I'm happy to be in the number 2 spot this year (VP). Being in charge of something isn't nearly so great as it sounds.

I learned to make cookies this year. I know this may sound totally ridiculous for a college educated woman whose been married for 6 years and came from a family of pretty darn good cooks. However, my cookies have lived in infamy since the day that not even the dogs would eat them. Anyway, this year, I tackled this embarrassment and, with some lessons from mom and Bunny, made some kick-ass sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Patrick turned 2 in May! Sam and I can't believe that he's already two. He runs, jumps, climbs, falls, talks, asks questions...I could go on. I think his vocabulary increases at least 5% a day! He's amazing. Now I feel silly for being excited about a 2 year old that can run, jump, etc., but I think daily that my kid is really a genius.


Our biggest event of the year was Eva's birth. She was born on October 3rd, 2008. She weighed 7lbs and was 20 inches long. Not sure if it was me getting older or what, but this pregnancy wasn't as easy as the last one. Either way, she is here and healthy. The most beautiful baby girl ever. p.s. Yay for epidurals!

Sam turned the big 3-0 on December 17. Shawn flew up and surprised Sam for the weekend. They had lots of celebrating to do as Shawn turned 30 on 12/4. We had nice dinner at Bella Milano on Saturday night that weekend and then went to Dave and Buster's for some good old fashioned time wasting F-U-N (and adult beverages). Sam got, among other things, a .22 pistol for target shooting.

Thanksgiving was busy as usual, but yummy. We made the rounds and spent our day surrounded by lots of family. We are SO lucky to have so much family. Christmas was strange this year because Sam had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but we made it work. We turned it into a 5 day food/gift/family bonanza. Yeeha!

I'm sure I'll think of 8 things I meant to write once I post this, but the above is our year in review. It was full, busy, lovely, hard and fast. Coming soon: the Hooligans' hopes and plans for 2009...