Cute kiddos

I was going to just get a picture of Abby in her new panties but it was on video and I captured some great stuff ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last week the kids got a great present in the mail......shirts from DAD!!!! Connor was grinning ear to ear and bouncing off the wall:) It was just too sweet. Abby would walk around smacking her chest saying, Dada!

200th Day!!!!!

Notice how faded the rings on the mantle are? The chain now goes from the mantle, across the picture window, along the wall, behind the sofa, across the hallway, around the arch of the kitchen and along the top part of the kitchen all the way to the deck door!!!!

Connor putting up the 200th ring!!!!!

Tomorrow we get to start taking them DOWN!!!!! This is the longest the chain will be:) Tomorrow, on Paul's birthday we get to start making it shorter!!!!!!!! We have possibly already been past the halfway point but his orders said, "not to exceed 400 days unless extended" so I was focusing on the 400 and not the "year" they were talking about. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the Family Old Blue

Welcome to the family Old Blue.  We got to know each other a bit tonight.  I learned that you take a little getting used to.  You made me fall on my bottom, get cold and snowy and frustrated.  But I guess I will let you stay.  I am not one to just turn family members out, while there were moments that I wanted to shut you off and put you on the curb with a "free to good home" sign on you, but after I called my dad and got a pep talk (about throttle and choke and speed) he showed me that we really could get along and maybe (after a few more snows) we will be really great friends down the road and you will become the family member I just couldn't live without.

Phew!  First I couldn't get it started, I tried about 4 times and went back inside to find the manual and read it again to figure it out.  I just didn't have the cord all the way in ;)  So I got it started and went down the driveway.  It was getting dark out since I had to wait till the kids were in bed and when I got to the bottom of the driveway I couldn't really see how far I was and I had the speed up too high and when I got to the part that sloped down, oops!!  on my bottom I went!  I got back up and it took forever to get it going back.  I am not used to something that is self-propelled!  The whole, stopping, switching gears and starting again was taking a bit to get used too.  So I get going back up the driveway and it just doesn't sound right so I more some more switches ;) get back up and then back down and bam it stops!!  UGH! So I grab my phone and call my dad, we talk I think I have if figured out now and then I hear crying coming from the house.  I go in and take off my coat, Connor is crying, Abby is crying.  I go in to Connor's room and ask him whats wrong and he said, "I just wanted a hug from you."  So I hug him and ask him if he was crying loud enough that he woke up Abby and he said, "yes"  grrrrrrrrr.  So I calm him down and tuck him in and go in to Abby's room.  Give her a hug and lay her back down and back outside I go.  Try to start the snow blower again and it won't start!!!  You know why???  I ran over one of those weekly papers in the plastic bag and now it's stuck!!!  So I pull the key and dig the paper out, get it started adjust the choke and throttle and speed and zip-a-dee-doo!!!  Off I go!!!  Got the sidewalk and most of the driveway done!!  Connor was watching me the whole time so I wrapped it up since the part of the driveway behind my car was done.  After the practice I am now looking forward to the next time around!

Oh, I do bet that my neighbor to the South probably called my neighbor to the West and said, "you have got to look out your window and check out the "girl" and her big snow blower!"  The guys from those houses are good 'ol boys, blue collar men in their 40's who do all the outside work and were probably laughing their BUTTS off watching me fall and slip and try to figure out the whole darn thing!!  But by the end I feel that I have it mastered, almost ;) 

Hello, my name is Sarah and I'm addicted to.....

CARDIGANS!!!!

the sad part is, this is just the ones that are clean. I came to this realization the other day when I was shopping and I tried on a ton of tops and I either didn't like the pattern or the cut or the style or something. What did I come home with? The purple and grey cardigans in the front, 2 camis and a pair of jeans. The next time I talked to Paul I confessed my addiction and apologized that I always seem to wear the same thing.....

BUT if you look close you will see that some have patterns or embellishments, some are long sleeved, short sleeved and 3/4 length sleeved so really, the are all VERY different and UNIQUE!!!! But yes, if you see me walking down the street, chances are I will be in jeans or dress pants, cami and cardigan, but look close, the cardigan will so wonderful and unique ;)
**It's worse than I thought, I had nine more in my drawer and more in the wash!!!**

I cried in Home Depot today.  I don’t know about the rest of you but I can stay strong in the face of adversity but it’s when someone in the midst of adversity shows compassion that I let my emotions out.  I remember WAY back in the day when I was working for Ruttles, we were having one very busy night.  I was the shift supervisor and I had a brand new hostess working.  She had forgotten about a group and their wait had gotten a lot longer than it had to be.  Well I went to check on her and the guy asked me about the wait and that’s when I noticed that she had skipped them.  I was explaining to the man and he got in my face yelling and being rude and threatening, and walked out.  Well I stayed cool, calm and professional.  Then an older gentleman came up to check out, put his hand on mine and in a soft quite voice said, “You handled that very well. Mistakes happen and he was out of line.”  That is when I almost came to tears.  Yell at me all you want, I can handle it but the moments were humanity steps back in make me realize how much the yelling hurts.  Ok, now you are probably thinking, what the heck happened at Home Depot today;)  Well, I will tell you.  As you all know, Paul is overseas and we live in the Midwest, and it’s winter, we have lucked out and the snow hasn’t been anything like last year.  But it has snowed and some of it I have shoveled and some a very nice anonymous neighbor has snow blowed and some of it my bosses husband has helped with.  But as all of you also know, I pride myself in being a strong, self-sufficient woman and mother.  I honestly appreciate all the help that I can get, I just don’t want to have to ask for it.  I think that I have made the choice to fall in love and marry a wonderful man who I am proud of, who serves his country and because of that choice my life is harder.  Sometimes it’s just days or weeks but sometimes it’s years. Sometimes it’s big things, like being alone in the ER with Abby while she has to have stitches or taking a whole day off from work to have Connor seen by the specialists at Boys Town National Research Hospital for his speech and not being able to because our insurance has changed and I didn’t know that I had to have a referral from our PCP and being unable to get the referral and paperwork done instantly so now the paper work has to be done and the appointment has to be rescheduled and I have to take another day off work. Sometimes it’s little things like, I couldn’t rent a movie from Blockbuster the other day w/o creating my own account b/c Paul set up the other account and I didn’t have a card for it so they wouldn’t rent to me without the card or Paul’s NE drivers license number, which I do not have, his social security number on the other hand I can say in my sleep but who the heck knows what his drivers license number is?  But I made the choice to have this life and I think that it’s up to me to make it work so asking for help sometimes feel like I am failing.  I know, it’s not but that’s how it feels sometimes.  So in order to be more self-sufficient I went out and bought a snow blower today.  We woke up, had breakfast, took Connor to swim lessons and then went to Home Depot.  I was talking to Dad on the phone, getting some tips and ideas of what I needed.  Walked in and a sales associate came right over to offer some help and guidance.  I picked one out and he wheeled it up to customer service to have it rung up.  The rang it up and I said, “now lets see if we can get this in my car.”  You should have seen the look on the guys face!  Well, he grabbed some tools and a tape measure and another guy and out we went.  I got the kids all strapped in and the doors closed so they didn’t get too cold.  Then I was watching the guys b/c they were taking some of the parts off to try to get it to fit in my trunk.  Connor starting yelling, “I want to go home already!!” It was getting cold, they were getting hopeless.  Things started looking bleak and I started thinking, if Paul was here this wouldn’t be an issue.  We could probably find a guy from work or borrow a work truck or we wouldn’t even be buying on b/c we could take turns shoveling and having one of us inside with the kids. Grrrr  so one of the guys looks at me and says, “You might just have to rent one of the trucks for $19.99 an hour to get it home.”  I was thinking, REALLY???? You have got to be kidding!?!?!?!?  But, if that is what I have to do, then whatever, lets get this show on the road.  I unload the kids and off we go, back inside.  I get in there and the guys have already told the associate at customer service the situation.  He asks if I have my driver’s license and proof of insurance.  So BACK OUT OF THE STORE to my car with the kids to get my insurance, and back in.  I have everything and I am thinking about the fact that now I am going to have to move the car seats to the truck and haul the stuff home, unload the snow blower form the truck, take it back, move the car seats again and head back home.  I was really getting frustrated b/c if Paul were home this would be so much easier, ugh!  But I just stayed strong when all I wanted to do is sit down and cry and say, “why do things have to be this hard!!!!”  That is when the guy behind the counter looked at me and said, “Ma’am, I am just going to have a couple of the guys follow you home with one of the trucks.  That way you don’t have to worry about getting the kids in and out of the truck and unloading the snow blower by yourself.”  That is when I started tearing up.  I said, “Thank you!  That will be wonderful!”  Walked back out to the car and headed home.  Unloaded the kids and started making lunch.  Heard a truck pull up and went out.  They already had it unloaded and pushing it into the garage.  That was wonderful.  One of the guys turns around and says, “Keep shopping at Home Depot, stay away from Lowes.”  Funny, and they were cute to boot ;) 

"Spring Training"

Spring training starts early in the Whitford house! I signed Connor up for Soccer at our local YMCA. It doesn't start until March but the boy couldn't wait to get outside and start practicing! We picked up some cleats and a practice ball for him from Dick's Sporting Goods and I suppose that probably helped him get more excited. He's been out there for almost thirty minutes:) I was out and we were kicking it around for awhile but then I wanted to get Abby back inside. I can't wait to see him on the field. He does Happy Feet at the center so he has been learning some of the basic skills already. He is also really excited b/c Paul is supposed to have leave in March so he should be able to see him play.

Santa 2010

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these pictures!!!! Why is it that at a certain age boys just can't smile for a picture. You get the goofy smile, or the "CHEESE" smile or the looking off to the side smile or in Connor's case, the "looking off to the side while saying cheese and not feeling well and 'trying' to smile, smile. Which of course translates on film to, "I just want the toys, why do I have to smile, this hurts" We had a great time visiting Santa tonight. We colored, wrote letters, watched a little of Frosty the Snowman, and then of course the children had a chance to sit and talk with Santa. I asked Abby a few times, to which she replied, "Noooooooo!" while running back to color aka eating crayons;) The whole way there Connor didn't seem to be acting himself and honestly I thought he was just a bit nervous to see Santa but it turned out the poor guy has a fever! We went out to supper after seeing Santa and he had one apple slice and then asked if he could lay down in the booth. Poor little guy. We cuddled and watched Rudolph and then he got some Tylenol and hit the hay. Hopefully he feels better in the morning.

I never was the "wait by the phone for a boy to call" type of girl. But now, with Paul in Afghanistan, that is what I seem to be doing. Getting on the computer in the morning and at night and staying close, or taking it room to room with me, just to see if he is on Facebook so I can chat with him. I got a chance to talk with him over Skype last night but his web cam wasn't working. So he said that he would try tonight with a different web cam and he said that he was going to get up early, like 3 or 4am to see if he could catch Abby and Connor before they go to bed. So I have been sitting by my computer, and taking it to the bathroom while I bathed Connor, and had it right next to me while I was trimming Connor's hair, just in hopes that his day and night went as hoped and he will be ringing my on Skype any minute now. I am blogging this in a lame attempt to keep busy and not just staring at the blank Skype screen. *Exhales deeply* technology can be so wonderful but tonight it has had me so anxious and excited and nervous and happy and sad all at the same time.....I hope we hear from him soon. It's almost 7pm and I have to wake the kids up at 6:30am tomorrow. I don't want them to stay up too late. But how could I not let them stay up if their dad is going to be calling to see them? Ring darn computer, ring........

When I Grow Up......

So Miss Abs, what do we think, a supermodel or an artist???? She sure has the brow for either;)

The Dog Park

There is a leash free area of the Walnut Creek park and Modi LOVED it!!! It was such a lovely day today so it was great to get out and spend sometime outside. Modi got to run around with a puppy and he interrupted some dogs training (oops! he was just making sure they could preform with distractions, he was really a training aide, not a hindrance, don't know if the guy felt that way but it sounds good;) ) We made a nice big loop around and he even got to chase some ducks and play in the water. Then we went to another part and played Marco Polo in the tall grass. It was a lot of fun!!!

Connor's Birthday

I just love the picture in the middle of Abby playing with the balloons from Connor's party:)
Connor loved the presents that he got from Oma, Grandpa Clark and Erin. They were perfect!!! Thanks everyone!

Connor's Party!

It was soooo fun! We had almost his whole class there and they all had fun bowling. One of Connor's friends even bowled and 82!!!! They got to bowl, then we had some pizza and cup cakes and bowled some more. I wasn't sure if they would be up for 2 games but they had fun and then when they were done it was time to leave. The Mockingbird Lanes was a wonderful place to have it too. They took care of invites, pizza, pop, decorations and tableware. We literally showed up, had fun and went home!!! Granted I went home before paying so I got a call from the bowling alley a few minutes after leaving:0 but it got taken care of, phew! The kids had fun, got a bit crazy after the cake and pop but nothing we couldn't handle;)!!

On the Way to the Little Park

Day at the Park

Friday Grandpa Clark, Oma and Aunt Erin came to visit for Connor's birthday. They picked the children up from the Center and had a great afternoon at the "little park"

Connor's Birthday

So today is Connor's Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got up and went in to work/school. We were going to bring in donut holes for the class but I couldn't find the bakery;) So we just went to school. As soon as the director came in I gathered Connor up and we went to look for that bakery with more light, and we succeeded! So we each picked out a donut and headed down to the Gene Leahey Mall where we walked along the water and watched the last couple ducks that were there. We also went down the bumpy slides a few times and then headed home to open the present that he got from Lily and Papa. We played helicopters for about an hour and then we went to the school that Connor may be going to for Kindergarten and played in the park near it until we saw all the children come out and play. He really liked seeing all the kindergartners. Then it was off to Red Robin, yum. We had lunch and Connor and I shared a hot fudge sundae and Connor got a balloon, which I tied loosely to his pants, and it blew away in the parking lot:( After that we went to Wal-Mart to get his cake and look for a present. For Abby's birthday I got a lemon cake and Connor wanted one for his birthday too, but apparently people don't eat lemon cakes in the fall, but Connor found the dragons from How to Train your Dragon and picked that as his present from Mom and Dad and Abby. Then we went to pick up Abby and on the way there Connor was telling me that his tummy hurt and he was sleepy. So we grabbed Abs and came home to "rest" on the couch while he held his new dragon and watched How to Train your Dragon. He feels "super better now" and wants to go to the "big park." After the park I promised Mc Donald's for supper (ugh, it's his favorite and it feels like we go there ALL THE TIME, but it's his birthday so that is where we are going) I asked if he wanted an ice cream cake from DQ since we couldn't get a lemon cake and he agreed (yes, sweet, that makes up for McD's) All in all, a pretty wonderful day. Abby isn't in a very good mood b/c she is under the weather but it has been YEARS since Connor and I hung out, just the two of us and it was sooooooo much fun. I am glad that we got to spend it together

My mom was here this weekend. We got a couple free tickets to Valas from my cuz and so she took them to the pumpkin patch while I cleaned the house, alone, all by myself, with no little helpers!!!!!!!

Look and the floor and counter shine;)

A good day was had by all!