Christmas

Our tree...which jay says is leaning because of all my gone with the wind ornaments that i insist on hanging up front. (he's probably right)

This is Norm my elf on his ladder, helping to decorate our already leaning tree.

This is the garland in the kitchen showing all the homemade ornaments that the kids made.

This is the garland above our front window with all of aunt Dee'd's Godchild ornaments.

yes, holly there isn't a santa claus

for the past couple of weeks holly has been noticing packages coming into the house. how many stories can i possible make up for each one. so i started telling her if she keeps asking questions she is not going to like the answers. so today while putting groceries into the back of the car she sees a present that is for matty. how do you explain that one. so i ask her, "do you want to know? do you want to hear the answer? what the truth really is?" i could tell by the look in her eyes she was curious to hear the answer but at the same time wanted to hold on to the magic of santa. so, okay, i told her that there is no santa. it is her dad and i who buy the gifts. that once long ago there lived saint nicholas and that is where we get santa claus. needless to say she was heart broken. she cried outside, she cried in her room. jay said i was mean but for pete sake she is 8 and a half and i am tried to telling stories to cover up the presents she finds. i knew in kindergarten that there was no santa claus. was i more jaded growing up than my children are now? so, the cat is out of the bag and i'm glad.

this has been a word from nicole

Curves

so i finally did it. i have joined curves with a friend. yesterday we went in for our first official workout and to be measured and weighed. i did not like my numbers at all. i weighed in at 167 lbs. and my upper measurements are 39-34-36. all i could think when they were measuring me was, "i'm no scarlett o'hara." scarlett had the skinniest waist in three counties for all those who have not read the best book ever, gone with the wind. they asked what did i weigh at my thinnest-100 lbs (just 17 years ago) and what was my heaviest-this is the heaviest i have ever been. any who, the workout goes by so fast. i just wish i had a little more coordination when it came to working those machines. i used muscles yesterday that have been dormant for sometime. i felt really good when i got done. really energized! my plan is to go three times a week with chris. my goal is to lose seven pounds the first month. i wanted to say ten but i would rather shoot low and then surprise myself with losing more. one good thing about going to curves me and chris are considered to be one of the younger women going there. 37 is young...loving it!!
this has been a word from nicole

it's that time of year....

i love christmas. i love the hussle and bussle of it all. i love seeing people with all their packages. i love thinking of creative gifts. i love the decorating. i love all the food. i love the christmas cards. i love giving baked goods to my neighbors. i love my christmas tree. i love christmas morning but i love christmas eve even more. but right now i am feeling a little down about christmas. last year i got my dad a branding iron. yes, a branding iron. i got it personalized with his initals TRH so he could brand all the meat he grills in the summer. tonight i find out he has yet to use it. here i thought i got this great, unique gift that he would laugh when he would use it. i knew he wouldn't use it everytime he grilled but for pete sake i thought he would use it at least once. i really put alot of thought into my gifts. i really think about each person and how i spent time with them through out the year. for example, my sister, got a pool for her kids this year. just one of those big infaltable pools and ethan spent alot of time in that pool. my sister said he even tried to surf with the cover of the turtle sandbox as his surfboard. remembering that story i found an underwater surfboard for him. i can so see him using this thing. hopefully, he will use it and not "tuck it away for memory sake."
in other christmas news i am thinking holly and i will get dresses for christmas eve mass this year. ususally we don't get super dressed up, it is just something we never did growing up, so i haven't done as an adult. but holly has expressed an interest in a christmas dress so i think i will take it up a natch and get a little dressy this year.
also, holly and i are starting a christmas village collection. we got our first piece yesterday at kohls-holly picked out the movie theather. i hope to have at least two other pieces before christmas. we are going to set it up downstairs in the basement on the glass table. i'll try to post pics once it is up.
this has been a word from nicole

summer 2009

Things that I have enjoyed this summer-
books from the library
Chicago with sista and the kids
Seeing Holly learn new things at her religion class
Seeing Def Leppard and Poison with Jodi and Heather
Taking a chance with Jodi and getting our picture taken with Brett Michaels
Knowing Holly and Matty had a wonderful time in Coldwater with Jay and Steve
Watching movies with Jay
Watching Jay crochet his blanket
Doing our annual garage sale with Sista
Going to Greektown Jay
Seeing Andrew learn new things at id Tech camp
Walking/running with Gordy
Facebook,Farmville and Yoville
Watching Y&R on the DVR and missing all the commericals that way
pistachio pudding
Shopping and eating out with Micala
Watching Matty play in the dirt and play with the hose
Being one of 50 finalist in the coke contest

i'm sure there is more but that is off the top of my head.
this has been a word from nicole

concert

i am so looking forward to this evening! heather, jodi and and friend of heather's and i are going to see cheap trick, poison and def leppard. back in 1992 heather and i saw def leppard at the kellogg arena. they put on a good show. i just want to scream and sing my lungs out. also excited to see heather and jodi. i can't even remember the last time i saw either of them. i should really get out more often.

this has been a word from nicole

sunny days, stormy nights

i am very happy and content these days and i am loving this feeling. i spent four days at my sister's with the kids. we held our annual garage sale. sister had cleaned out her attic and she had so many baby clothes, it was a little overwhelming. we did pretty good our first day. i had a large santa for sale and we posed with it around the garage sale. we were laughing so hard, but soon after our picturing taking someone came and bought our santa. we were a little sad to see it go. the pictures are up on facebook if you want to see them. on our second day we were rained out. so i say to sister, why don't we take our baby stuff to once upon a child. so after drying the clothes and packing up the car we left. we had two hampers, three baskets full of clothes, plus a high chair, jumper, and toys. all they bought was the high chair, jumper and a small basket of clothes. sister was not happy. i was a little surprised but oh well, at least we tried. anywho, this once upon a child in wyoming, mi is awesome. they had great stuff. i was able to get all of holly's polo shirts for school next year. on our way home we stopped to pick strawberries. it was so nice, just the two of us laughing and talking! Sunday we celebrated brenna's birthday. it was a beautiful day but i had taken two tyenlols (500 mg) each and i was so drowzy that i fell asleep in ethan's bed.
on monday holly started her summer religious education classes. she will be making her first communion next spring. the program is just awesome! in the fall she and i will attend classes together for further preparation for her first communion. being in second grade is so exciting. your not so much a little kid, you have more responsiblities and then at the end of the school year you make your first communion. i am just so happy for all that holly will experience this year!!
so you're wondering what my stormy night is... jay is laid off. he could be placed in another plant but it's just a waiting game now. i have much hope that everything will work out. sister has been a big support and God is leading our way!

can i scream

i'm living in a pickle jar and i can't get out. is it just me or has the cost of living (can you believe there is a cost to just live) gone up, no skyrocketed. is it just my area or what? jay's pay has not gone up and nor will it go up anytime soon. ford has taken from their employees bonuses, raises and "the cost of living" pay has been cut because the cost of living has not gone up. oh really ford? may i come live in your ivory tower? the everyday things are just getting too much. when i think of all that needs to be paid and what won't get paid i almost start to shake. we got into a pinch a few months ago with my traffic ticket and our water bill. now i am scrambling to catch up. never in my married life have i come so close to going to a food pantry. but i wouldn't qualify anywho. how in the hell does sista stretch a dollar to make it two? how in the hell can i keep treading water when i am so tired?
this has been a word from nicole

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

i heard from replacements ltd and they are buying all my silverware. two pieces were bought at a discount because they were not perfect. so in total i will be getting....$548!!! sweet fancy moses, that is right! i'm taking most of that to chicago.
speaking of chi-town...i found out that on second mondays at the field museum admission is free. yes, i'm there. the zoo, free, also there. beach, assuming it's free. where will i spend my little fortune? american girl, of course. we are having lunch there and that alone is a pretty penny. $21 per person. please like holly or brenna could even eat $21 dollars worth of food in one sitting. but holly very much wants to take her american girl doll there and have the whole experience. okay that is a lie. i want to go and do everything. you can even get you picture taken with your doll and they put it on a fake cover of their magazine. how cool is that. maybe i'll borrow brenna's doll and get a pic taken.
so is anyone else sick and tired of this jon and kate crap. they all over the news. you just can't get away from her hideous hair. why would you go ahead with season five knowing your marriage is in trouble? i will not watch their show anymore or buy any magazines that have them on the cover. news is not even news anymore.

this has been a word from nicole

summer

can you smell it? can you feel it on your skin? it's almost summer!!! much to my sister's joy her summer vacation starts today. holly and andrew are not out until june 10. i just love the beginning of summer. there really are no worries and no rushing to be somewhere. i always have so much hope that i will be able to do so much during the summer. so here is what i hope to do this summer (depending on money of course):
garage sale at sisters (i almost start all my summers this way)
chicago in july at the condo i won at st. rose's auction...beach, navy pier, american girl, zoo
concert with heather, jen, and nicole (love bites)
craft show/flea market at the wayne senior center
worlds largest yard sale with jay in august
ethan, micala and maybe brenna come stay with us for a few days or weeks or whatever works
this has been a word from Nicole

silverware=money

we (meaning me and the kids) spent mother's day with my mom. jay went to his mom's. my sister and her family were there, as well as, my cousin, renee, her two kids and her mom. in total there were eight kids there. my cousin, her kids and her mom live in florida. it wasn't the warmest of days on sunday but compared to our winter it was a nice day. the michigan kids had on short sleeves, or a dress or shorts. the florida kids had on jackets and hats. you would have thought a winter storm was brewing. it was a very nice day with my family. after we ate my sister, jim, micala and me sat around the table talking "shit," when diane brings up how she is going to sell some silver on ebay. a lightbulb went off in my head. so i start asking questions about silver and silverware. you know, real silverware from the olden days. in my mind i saw the box of silverware my grandma gave me 16 years ago. i knew that had to be the real deal. could i actually have a small fortune in my basement? as soon as i got home i pulled out the box and looked for the markings, sure enough, towel candlelight sterling silver. if you brought this set today it is well over $5000! dollar signs are dancing around in my head. the things i could buy...things that we needed. this would so help out if i could just sell it for the right price. so today i called a place that buys silver. the going rate for sterling silver is $5 an ounce. the silverware weighs about 5 pounds. wow! $400! i wondered if i could do better. i called my sister's friend, julie. she knows things that most people don't know. she said to call replacements ltd sometimes they buy things from people. i called and yes, they are buying my patteren of silverware. now i am waiting for an email about what pieces they are looking for. i know some people would keep this silverware and pass it down to the next generation but i figure, if i don't sell it the next person may and why shouldn't i get the money, because i need it.
this has been a word from nicole

bye, bye small town

yesterday we went to wayne's historical museum. i was able to ask about william houston. unfortunately, they did not have any pictures or infomation on him. only that he had a brother that was captured by the confederacy. anywho, although the museum was small jay and i found out alot of interesting things about our boring town. wayne was founded in the early 1800's and has gone through many, many changes. in the 1960's the state told this little town that a major road was coming through so figure out where to put it and in that one statement little wayne was changed forever. wayne was once a thriving town where you actually did all your shopping. it was kinda like hastings. you walked to downtown and did your business and went home. everything was here. but now that we have michigan ave it has broken up the town in two places and it is now not a friendly place to shop or walk. so to the genius of the state of michigan, thank you for destroying another small town.
this has been a word from nicole

ticket

i hate traffic tickets, well who doesn't?! this morning after picking up bobby and tarra i stopped at a red light. technically it is only a two lane road but by the traffic light there is a lane to turn right. now there is a bus next to me, a car across the intersection waiting to go straight and one car coming from the left but still a ways away, no one is behind me. so i turn right. then i see a cop with his lights on. he asks me if my signals work. i say yes, and he asks whey i didn't use them. i had no good answer. does everyone use their signals everytime they turn? i think not. so anywho, i got a ticket for failure to use signal. yes, that is actual traffic violation. you know, i use my signals, on the highway or in heavy traffic, whenever the situation calls for it. the ticket is for $120 and here is the kicker i also will get two points on my license. that's right people two points. i am fighting this ticket! i have never done that before but this ticket is just a little excessive.so to the city or romulus and to the romulus policeofficer who gave me the ticket...SUCK IT!
this has been a word from Nicole

what a beautiful weekend, even though we got a little rain. holly, matty and gordy got to play outside and i put out my metal flowerboxes. today we took a nature walk. jay said i was walking to fast but i like the pace i was at and i kept going. on our way back to the car we stopped and looked through an old cementary here in wayne. the oldest person we found was born in the 1700's. most everyone buried in this cementary were born and died in the 1800's. a lot of children are buried here. what is weird about these old grave markers is that they had their age and how many months and a day they were when they died. one of the last gravestones we looked at was for a guy named william houston. it read that he was with co. D 24 Mich and died in gettysburg. so i told jay lets remember his information and see if we can google him and maybe we can find a picture of him. well, i googled him and found a drawing of him. in fact the city of wayne paid to have a mural painted on the side our our old movie theather a few years back and his face is on it. how weird out of all those graves, we pick his and find out that he is part of this mural. next saturday we are making plans to go to the wayne histroical muesum to see if we can find anything else about his young man. he was only 21 years old when he died.

sleep

last night i woke up at 3:30 a.m. so like any normal person i got up and spent two hours on the computer. going to the usual places like fb, myspace, usmagazine, ew, eonline, you know all the important places. i was able to chat with a friend online so all was not lost. i then played a game online for awhile. when i got tired of that i made andrew's lunch and got holly's lunch money together. by this time jay was up for work. i layed back down about 6:15 and fell asleep. i woke up at 7:15, the time i should be leaving to take the kids to school. so yeah, they were late today. sleeping for me has been a problem lately. i can be dog tired and still sleep will not come or i can't stay asleep. i have gone back in forth in my mind about sleeping medication but i'm already on one medication, i don't want to be a medicine cabinet.
that's all folks,
this has been a word from nicole

first blog

so this is my first blog. right off the bat i just want everyone to know is that i don't use capital letters. it slows my typing down. i have been following a few of my friend's blogs. what i like about their blogs is that at times they write about the simple things of life (like painting a room or their little guy eating). it is the everyday things that i find most interesting.
i don't know what i will be blogging about. sometimes i think i lead a very dull life. sometimes i lay in bed at night and think did i just live through a day. then i think, "i just wasted a day God has made." Then i think how can i do that? next thing i know i am awake for another day and hopefully i won't waste it.
until next time,
this has been a word from nicole