The WV Niessners

Who wants to go back to school

2012-01-02T11:54:00.000-08:00

Every year I get the pleasure of spending Christmas break with the kids. I always enjoy this time and this year was no different. We got into something every day and enjoyed our break. Today is the last day before Drea and I have to go back to school and we are making the most of it. This morning there was a little snow on the ground and Drea wouldn't let the opportunity pass her up.

Drea making a snow angel on the deck

Charlotte getting ready to enjoy the snow, always with baby doll in hand

Drea attempting to sled

Any chance I can get to build a fire, I'll take it.

After we came in and warmed up with hot chocolate, Char said look at me, take my picture

Unfortunately we will have to get back to our regular life and school, but you never know, snow days may be just around the corner. :)

Change

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes change is hard. It doesn't matter what the change is, it is just hard for people when change occurs. Shoot, I hate getting changed out of my pajamas most days. I guess my point is this. Change happens. For whatever reason it does. Sometimes it is for the good and other times it seems it is for the bad. Often times change has to happen for God to intervene. God is the one constant in all of our lives. God remains the same. And usually about the time you think God isn't there something happens. God is amazing. He uses things in our lives and events in other people's lives to fix us. I mean let's face it, we are all broken. We all sin, we all make mistakes.

I think about my life and the changes that have occurred. I remember when I came to the lowest point in my life when I was completely broken. It was near the end of college for me. I enjoyed my 9 years of college, probably a little too much. Something had to change. My life was empty. It wasn't rewarding. Something was missing. I knew it was God. I remember pretty clearly (which is amazing considering what I was like at this point in college) working at Giant Eagle in Morgantown and meeting this new employee, Stacey. She lit up the room. I think it was her smile. She had a way of comforting me even then. So I started to talk to her about me, she was a great listener. I just talked and talked and talked. I can do that you know. She listened and before I knew I was headed to church with her. You see, Stacey took the time to listen, she didn't have too, but she did. I mean she probably did because I am pretty hot, but I think it was because Stacey is a great person.

Recently, I filled out some paperwork for Stacey and then we reviewed my answers to her answers and they were quite different. It is funny how we view ourselves. I am sure we are not as good as others view us, but not as bad as we feel about us. It was just like when I met Stacey, I viewed myself as something I was not. The reality is God knows us, he knows our heart, he knows the person we want to be. The problem is sometimes we get in the way or our time is different then his. So instead of trying to make change we need to let God make the change. As for me, I want to change, I want to be the person God wants me to be. So I am going to change and I am going to stop and listen to God for awhile. Change will happen. It always does.

Linwood Street

2011-11-16T05:10:00.001-08:00

When the new Gateway Connector came through our area, the landscape and layout of Linwood Street completely changed. It took a while to get used to but we love it. The convenience of jumping on the interstate, walking the dogs and kids on the new sidewalks and bike paths, and playing at the new neighborhood playground has only helped us enjoy the changes. So we were finally ready to update our house. We think we also helped change the look of Linwood Street...see what you think.

Before

After - painted, new windows, shutters, new doors, etc.

Before

After

We still have quite a few things left. In the spring, we will be re-shingling the roof, replacing gutters, staining the front porch and staining the deck. We also have to finish painting the block. What you can't see are the inside changes. We had a basement system put in that helped dry up the basement and we will soon start on finishing the basement. My mom's fiance, Bob, has done most of the work for us and he has done an incredible job! We have been super pleased with everything.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Trick or Treating fun!

Drea wanted to be a princess, but not just any old Disney princess like she is usually obsessed with...she wanted to be Princess Lily. (That is her favorite name. She names all of her Barbies, baby dolls, and even herself.) Charlotte was Minnie Mouse and you can see Barrett in this picture too being a Rocket Ship. The kids had so much fun. I painted their faces because they love having their face painted or wearing makeup. Also, if you check out the last picture in this series, you will see another member of our family dressed up. Yes, we had a Halloween party at my work and I dressed up as Rizzo from Grease.

Drea's Dance

2011-10-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, this took us awhile to post. Well, we had some diffculties uploading the video and then when we finally figured it out, we got busy. I was thinking about this today and decided to share.

http://youtu.be/1oCdaWX_LTE This link should take you to Drea's ballet dance. Hope you enjoy.

http://youtu.be/rxlnD1enCwc This is the link to Drea's tap dance.

http://youtu.be/kNaUN80P-_g Here is the opening number, Stacey and Jody are in this. See if you can pick them out. It maybe more Stacey, then Jody. But hey, Stacey is my wife and I maybe I am little bias. ~ Andy

Funny Drea story

2011-10-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

This is short but cute...
I was explaining some things to my mom about my doctors appointment today. I made the comment that "the other birth controls contain estrogen, so I can't take them."

Drea interupted us and said "Mom, it's West Virginia. Not Estrogen-ia." Then we all broke out in a histerical giggle! She is so silly.

Niessner weekend

2011-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

When August arrived this summer, our family drove to NJ to see the rest of the Niessner crew. Laura (Andy's sister), Leo, Luke, Melissa, and Cat flew across the country to visit for a couple weeks. Karen (Andy's sister), Richard, Brynn, and Lydia drove in from Maryland to visit also. That's one big Niessner weekend. I can't remember the last time we were all together. I believe it was for Karen's wedding over a year and a half ago. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed quite a few adventures.

Here's Luke eating some pancakes

Brynn, Drea, & Lydia enjoying time together

Leo making some guacamale

Charlotte reading with Aunt Laura

Preparing to eat some crabs thanks to Richard & Karen

All the cousins swimming

Getting ready to feast

Riding the train into Philly

Visiting the Liberty Bell

As soon as the camera comes out, Drea poses

I love this picture

Too much Philly

So this was the stage at Betsy Ross's house, but the girls made it theirs

Cheese!

This is what Melissa & Kat did the whole time

The whole Niessner clan

Sno Cones!

Oh wait, Melissa & Kat did do this...it was Hilarious

Summer events

2011-09-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

We have been so behind on blogging. Over the summer we did so much traveling that we couldn't seem to keep up with the res of life. Now I have been working like crazy and Andy is taking a couple classes this year to finish his administration specialty. So I'm going to make a couple of quick posts just to document some of the great travelign adventures we went on this summer and some of the family we were able to sspend time with.

These are pictures from our trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit my cousins, Daniel, and his family, Lauren, Madison, and Tyler.

Madison, Charlotte, and Drea playing in the pool. We were down there in July when it was in the 100s so any chance to cool off was great for the kids (and adults!)...although the water was a gazzilion degrees too!

Lauren and Tyler

We took the kids to a discovery museum so they could play and get some energy out. I swear I love these places more than the kids! This is Andy and Daniel getting served a meal by the kids in the cafe. (Well, I guess our kids aren't actually in this picture but I think it's cute of the big boys.)

This was our trip to Kennywood.

My girls riding the whip! They love this ride. Barrett gets a kick out of it too but I didn't get his pic in it. I think he was on a different ride at this point.

Drea driving Briana on the old fashioned cars.

We let Drea get her face painted because she loves this kind of thing! I love it to...she looks like my beautiful little butterfly.

We took the kids paddle-boating in the little pond there too.

Mom and Bob on a romantic boat ride. :) It was so nice of them to take us to Kennywood and to watch the kids a bunch while us big kids rode rides. So we let them have a 30 minute boat ride to themselves. Actually we got on our boats shortly after. hehehehehe!

The Niessner's Summer Tour: Part 1 - Ocean City, MD

2011-08-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

So like most people we like to travel in the summer. This summer was no different. However, we seemed to go more places and do more this summer then summers in the past. The first of our travel desinations was Ocean City, MD. We went there with Chad, Jody, and Barrett. We had such a great time. I seriously could live at the beach, other then family it is the thing I miss the most about New Jersey.

The Niessners at the Beach

The girls playing skee ball

The kids favorite place at Ocean City

Drea really enjoying the ocean

Drea and Mommy playing in the ocean

Drea with her cousins, Bryann, Lydia, and Barrett

After this ride was over Charlotte refused to get out
because she loved it so much

Having more fun on the rides

Drea and Charlotte

Nesting.

2011-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided nesting isn't just for pregnant women because I'm nesting... and yes, I'm NOT pregnant.

Maybe it's because in 2 weeks my baby goes to kindergarten. I have closets to sort through. Clothes to weed out. Drawers that need organized and random organizational items that need a home in my home.

Maybe this is my way of avoiding the emotions surrounding this big event for two weeks.

I'm project-oriented. So if I have a project to do I am very focused on the project. This is often my downfall. I apologize if you have ever tried to have a conversation with me when I am in project mode. I am a woman on a mission and I lose a bit of social graces when I'm in this place.

All I know is...
I can't control the fact that my baby is growing up.
I can't control any of the things I've regretted doing or not doing with her over the past five years.
I can't control the spill of emotions that are going to be involved in the big first day of school (I am regularly fighting back tears about it.)
I can't control a lot of things in her life and I think kindergarten is a big wake-up call to that for me (and I'm sure many other parents.)
but I CAN CONTROL the organization of my little munchkins space (and some other areas of the house experiencing my project mode.)

Last thing...I apologize to all of those parents who I secretly thought were making a bigger deal about starting school than they needed to over the past few years. I love you all but yes, I did think you all were crazy to cry and sob and take all of the crazy pictures with your kid holding their backpack or standing in front of the school bus. So, on Monday August 22nd, I will proudly cry and embarrass myself with displays of love and silly candid and posed photo ops to let some other naive parent think I'm a fool before they truely know what it's like! It's okay with me. I can take it. My baby's going to kindergarten.

Drea and Isak and house work

2011-08-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Kareen and I took Drea and Isak to see the Aristocats at Fairmont State University and our friend, Mackenzie who was Scat Cat in the show. Somehow they both got the idea that this was a date. Now, not that I encourage dating at age 4 and 5 but it was pretty cute. Isak said he needed to wear a shirt and tie and Drea insisted on a dress since this was a date. Jordan gave Isak money for snacks so he treated his date (and her mom and aunt) to a snack at intermission. He kept saying, "I have cash for snacks." It was hilarious. He even kept putting his arm around her during the show. A couple times I found myself becoming uncomfortable at their moments alone in the dark theater. :) (just teasing!) It may have been if Isak doesn't do this to his friend Drea on a regular basis. Anyway, they had a blast and I enjoyed getting to take them. Isak was like a super star there. Everyone knows Jordan and Sarah there and many of them can just immediately pick out the Hoffmaster's first born.

Isak, Drea and Mackenzie after the show.

Below are some pictures of the projects we started outside of our home. We didn't try to squeeze in a garden this year so this was a great year to try to work on our landscaping. Andy saw this as a great opportunity to use a chain saw to cut down the bushes out front and take apart the trellis we have had since our wedding but was falling apart. Then I had the bright idea to pull up the outdoor carpet on the porch that was ripped in places. We have had a problem with stray cats using our porch and thought this was a way we could discourage against it.

We did have cute little helpers that always make projects around the hosue better. :)

Randomness

2011-08-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

Have I said before that Drea LOVES her hair curly? I mean loves. She asks me to put it up in curlers some nights before bed and I love her face in the morning when we take them out. She says she likes to look like me. I love that girl!

Charlotte is into rolling the car windows down with her foot right now. It's very cute and we love that she enjoys it. Drea used to hate the wind on her and would say "wind enough. wind enough."

Drea can swim now! She couldn't at the beginning of the summer. In fact, I called Ben to give her lessons because she gave me a couple scares when she slipped into the deep end and I had to rescue her but we hadn't worked out a time yet. Then we went to the pool a couple weeks ago she just started saying watch me and she was swimming by herself. Then the next time we went she was saying watch me jump into the pool and watch me do a cannon ball. She was even going under a little bit and she doesn't even like getting water in her face in the bathtub. Then the next time we went swimming she was swimming under water! ...like really swimming! I was in shock. I can't believe she is so big! It made me realize how funny it is the way our emotions work. I was so ready for her to be swimming on her so I knew she was safe. But now that she is I'm sad because it made me realize how grown up she is.

Charlotte says so many sentences now. She usually needs us to translate a good bit of them but you shuold hear her say "Sissy is going to kindergarten." It is the cutest thing ever! Except now she is adding that she is going to kindergarten too!

Drea knows all of the words to the Bruno mars song "Just the Way You Are." I love that she knows this song. It is a beautiful song and I hope she remembers that this is the way God looks at her and sees how beautiful she is. It makes me joyful when I hear her sing it so sweetly. By the way, I love the song because I think it is incredibly romantic.

Charlotte also is getting very animated! When she talks and explains things, she has her hands on her hips or a hand out moving it around like a little italian.

Quick Drea story:

We were in Wendy's one day and Drea seemed to be staring at a little girl with a prostetic leg. The little girl was the same age as Drea and her leg was decorated with a colorful flower and heart design. We kept telling Drea not to stare because it could hurt her feelings. Instead we told her to say hi or ask her and her sisters their names or ages or where they went to school. We explained that if she had questions she could ask us when we got in the car.
    So once in the car, we turned the music off and said, "Honey, did you have questions about that little girls leg?" Before letting her answer, I started my schpeel about how that is her leg and what it is called and how it helps her do everything we can do. Then I added how everyone is different and....blah, blah, blah...you know all the normal stuff parents are supposed to say.
   Drea says, "I was just checking out the colorful, flower pattern on it. I wish I had that."
   I think I learned a bigger lesson than she did that evening. Kids minds amaze me.

...And the graduations begin.

2011-07-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Drea graduated preschool in the beginning of June. (I have been fighting with this post for a while because the videos wouldn't upload, so I gave up on them. I may post them to YouTube later because they are so cute to watch.)

I was first kind of annoyed about the whole graduation thing because I think there are too many graduations. your kids graduate from preschool, then from kindergarten, sometimes from 4th grade into middle school (depending on what school you go to), some graduate from 6th grade into junior high, 8th graduation and then high school graduation. Oh, and I left out college...oh, do I hope we can include a college graduation. Anyway, so the cynic in me wasn't interested in giving a lot of preparation, time, or emotion to this event besides it's only preschool. I didn't even want to tell my parents about it because I didn't want to make a bigger deal out of it than it was...but I knew I would get in trouble if I didn't tell them.

Once we arrived, the emotions quickly started to change when one of the teachers handed me a little handmade book. The teachers had made a small scrapbook for each graduate detailing things they had made, pictures of them through the years since they began there as babies, things they have said, and how they are doing with certain skills at this stage in the game. I wasn't prepared for this at all. It completely caught me off guard. As I allowed myself to take in the emotion of it all, I realized that it was okay to celebrate these moments. Even if there are more than necessary, I can appreciate every one of them at that moment and realize it provides me a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy my children's milestones. This school/daycare has been a huge part of my child's life. She has been there for 4 years and these teachers have poured time into teaching her and prepping her for big school...and made this moment memorable for me with this wonderful little book about my Drea. I was able to sit there for the rest of the graduation and really enjoy it. I listened to the songs they prepared, watched them sign a song, and enjoyed Drea beaming through a rendition of Country Roads. Then I enjoyed watching her walk across the stage and get her diploma and knew that it meant so much to her and it means so much of a change for fall. I'm grateful that God gave me the opportunity to take that in and enjoy it.

Here she is performing a few songs they prepared for the graduation ceremony.

You can't see this...but that is her receiving her "diploma."

Proud Mommy and Daddy

Drea and Pappaw and Grandma

Drea and her teacher, Miss Camilla - she is an amazing teacher. Drea adores her.

Drea with Nunnie and Bob

Charlotte and Drea with Talia, Charlotte's daycare teacher and, fortunatelyfor us, our babysitter.

Drea with her friends, Molly and Abby.

Madison, Drea, Molly, Grace, and Abby - These girls have all gone to daycare together since they were babies. It was pretty sad because Drea won't be going to the same big school as any of them. Fortunately, we go to church with Grace and Molly dances at our studio but we will have to work in some playdates to continue seeing all of them because they love each other.

Spring to summer...catching up. (Part II)

2011-06-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

Bilotta family visit

Unfortunately, my dad's brother and their quickly growing family came to WV to visit when my aunt's mother died. We were sad about their loss but took advantage of the time we could spend with them. There were three new babies in the mix since the last time we saw them, that equals lots of baby cuddle time!

This is my new cousin, Tyler. He was only 5 months old in this picture...yes, 5 months old. He is the cutest thing ever!

These are my new twin cousins! Avie and Elise. They were so adorable and it was wonderful getting to hold them get to know them. I appreciated that I only had one baby at a time. Two babies are a huge handful.

This is my cousin's wife, Lauren, and their beautiful daughter, Madison. My girls were so happy to get some playtime in with her, although her and Charlotte seemed like they could stir up some good trouble together.

My sister, Kareen, holding Tyler. Avie (crap, I think it's Avie) with her momma, my cousin's wife, Meg.

My cousins, Matthew and Jonathan...both in the Air Force.

My Uncle David and Aunt Terry (sorry Aunt Terry, I know I take random candid photos sometimes).

My cousin, Daniel and his wife, Lauren.

Drea and I getting some snuggle time with Elise (I think.) :)

Madison and Charlotte. They look like they are getting ready to do something rotten to Tyler.

Dancing with the girls in our living room.

Pittsburgh Children's Museum

I'm not going to add a lot of captions to these photos because I think they speak for themselves. Most of them were taken at incredible exhibits at the museum. The kids had so much fun and we can't wait to take them back.

Making a sprinkler system in the water room.

Look, we made it through the day without looking like the kids ran us over with a truck. Sometimes two little active girls leave us feeling like we ran a marathon at the end of the day.

Charlotte's favorite part... washing off rocks.

Mud volcano

Spring to summer...catching up. (Part I)

2011-06-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

We have been in a blogging lull. Every time I think about blogging I'm stumped with what to actually write. Then we get so backed up with stories and pics and thoughts that we have missed blogging about that we can't decide where to start...and then the cycle begins again. Stumped. So that's why I'm doing an all encompassing catch up blog.

Easter 2011

"Practice" egg hunts at our house. The kids think this is a blast so we do a few hunts at our house leading up to the BIG hunt at my great-uncles.

Loves any chance to wear her rain boats.

On the way to Sunday morning Easter service.

Always the ham.

It rained during the BIG hunt at my uncle Buddy's...but leave it to Pappaw to help his granddaughter find eggs without messing up her hair.

Daddy and Charlotte hunting for eggs.

After the rain, the kids found some perfect mud holes.

Drea stopped caring about her hair and wanted to join in the fun. It pained me to let her because we were ready to go home but then I realized that sometimes we need to slow down so they can just be kids.

She had a blast! Notice Charlotte's not in these pictures at all. She wanted to play but everytime her toes would get in the mud she would get upset and want her feet cleaned off.

Down time

Playing with the girls at bedtime one night.

They wanted to try on my hat.

My friend's little girls came to play with my girls. They have so much fun together. Seneca, the oldest who is standing up beside me in this photo, was one of the flower girls in our wedding. We have known her since she was born and now she is 12.

Teddy's first birthday

Our friends, Emily and Joel, held their son's first birthday party during the beginning of May. They had a baseball themed party. We had so much fun celebrating with them...I remembered the day his momma told me she was pregnant with him...and now he's one year old.

Sarah's 30th

My friend, Sarah, celebrated her 30th birthday towards the end of May. Jordan threw her a small, intimate party with some of her close friends. We had dinner at Montemartre, the restaurant on the top of Hotel Morgan. It was a lovely evening. This picture is all the ladies trying to look young and beautiful even in our thirties. :)

This is the cool gentlemen who were with us for the evening. haha

My beautiful friend, Sarah, and her awesome husband, Jordan

Happy 30th birthday Sarah! 30s rock!

dreams

2011-06-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Lately I can't stop thinking about all of the dreams I have. I'm guessing it was the "changing of the age" (as my friend Christian puts it) that I just experienced last month when I turned 32. Yes, 32.

We all have dreams. Some are attainable, some seem as though they would never be possible.

Growing up I dreamed of being a lot of things, one of which was a model. When I was Three Rivers Queen in high school, the pagaent world only fueled that desire. Alas, that obviously never happened...being 5'7 would never get me there. Apparently the dream wasn't too important or I would've have moved away to reach for that dream. I remember doing some modeling photography sessions, one with Paul Starr, the original owner of Starr Photography and a different session with a "model search companies" that had come to the area. That was one of those scams that you hear about. Gave them a lot of money to take pictures and they said they would send those to agencies and such but I'm pretty sure they just told you all the stuff you wanted to hear but anyway, it was still pretty fun for me.

I also dreamed of being a Rockette. (Again, not a lot of heighth on my side for that one.) I think they always seemed so fancy and classic. I have been known, at times, for my kicking ability and I always thought watching the Rockettes kickline was awesome. I wasn't allowed to be a Honeybee when I was in high school. I think the Honeybees at East Fairmont have always been similar to the Rockettes. They do a fantastic kickline at the football games. Again, I never wanted to move away and I never had the completely build to be these people... not just tall, pretty darn skinny, too.

I dreamed of being a back-up dancer for some cool artist like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, or even a Fly Girl (that might date you or me a little). It's funny I can watch a video or a performance and I always notice the back-up dancers more than most people probably. I think they don't get noticed as often as they should. They probably put in a lot of hours and hardwork. I think build was never my issue for not following this dream. If anything I could hang with the back-up dancers. Big booty, thighs and smaller waists - I'm good in those arenas. (You've seen some of those girls, right?) Well, again I didn't desire to move away. I always thought I would do good living in a big city somewhere but just didn't have the guts to go. I love to dance. I always have. I started dancing when I was three years old, stopped a few times and always came back. If you have ever noticed I don't tend to sit still well, I'm constantly fidgeting. Well, I always feel like when I'm dancing, my body is at rest. Doesn't seem to make sense, does it? I bet it would to fellow dancers. Anyway, I guess this is why I still dance at the age of 32. By the way, we have a dance recital tomorrow. My favorite time of the year. I love being on stage and I absolutely love performing.

I dreamed of being a mom. While growing up, I always "mothered" everyone. I mothered my baby dolls. When my sister was born, I joyed in taking care of her and making her do things that I wanted her to do. And having three brothers to boss around worked well in my favor. Sometimes this dream still haunts me because I think if I dreamed of being a mom and always felt like I was made to be a mother how come I'm not better at it. (My friend Lorrie would probably say "by who's standards. Who are you comaring yourself to?") Some day I figure I will feel more confident in my parenting abilities...not sure when...but I think I will.

I dreamed of being a physical therapist but realized, in good timing, that sometimes anything in the medical (kind of?) profession can be depressing at times. I couldn't handle that. At some point in college, I thought I would be a cool broadcaster on tv on day so I went into journalism school. I later figured out that many reporters are broke and decided to try another route. Design seemed to spark a new joy in me. That's when I taught myself to be a graphic designer after one class in college.

Now some of my dreams are on a completely different scale. I dream of opening some cool art center for kids (well, adults too.) I dream of making WVU licensed products...t-shirts, stationary, etc. I dream of having some cool thing I make. (Ever visited etsy.com? There are some really neat people on there who make and sell some really awesome things. )

Lately, I have been talking to God a lot about finding my passion. I believe he might be showing me that it's right under my nose. I always image following my passions would mean doing some grandiose thing like starting a center for trouble teens or something crazy like that. I think God might be showing me otherwise. I'm still not sure what that is but I'm waiting around until he lets me in on the secret.

By the way, when my kids read this post when they are older, they are going to move away to pursue their dreams aren't they? :(

My Story

2011-05-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Stacey and I are reading Love and War, by John and Stasi Eldredge as part of a marriage study. We are really getting a lot out of it. One of the activities that they suggest to do is to tell your spouse your story. After thinking about it for awhile there were parts of each of our stories that neither one of us really knew. Anyway, the point of my post is to share my story.

So here is my story. I don't remember much of my childhood. That is not to say I didn't have a good childhood. I feel like my parents provided me with a great childhood. I just don't remember much. I do remember events. I remember things about living in Centerton, NJ. Like the time I grabbed the hot pipe on the tractor or the time I got stung by a bee in the middle of my back. I remember parking my battery operated police motorcycle behind some one's car and they ran it over. It destroyed the motorcycle completely and I never got another one. I know they were expensive and we didn't have that kind of extra money laying around, but I don't think I ever got over that. I think it still hurts. I know I shouldn't have parked it behind the car, but I was like 4 or 5 years old and I didn't know any better. I have a vivid picture in my mind of coming home from the circus and my grandparents crying when they found out the news that my brother Matthew died. That's all I remember of him.

I remember moving to Millville, NJ and being the new kid in 4th grade and being picked on because of it. I can think of happier times growing up playing sports with the neighborhood kids. I remember my first real kiss. Summer of seventh grade. I know I'm a loser. Her name was Gina and go figure she was Italian. I remember her not talking to me the whole next day. I guess I was a bad kisser. I always remember that older guys would always take care of me. They would pick me for their teams or watch out for me. I remember the pride and effort I would put into a sport or a team because I was picked. I remember being an all star in little league. I remember not playing alot, besides an inning here or there in the all star games. I remember catching a fly ball in the outfield when I never played there all season. I remember getting a big base hit. Well, it was a bunt, but it still was a hit.

I remember in 6th grade our teachers showing us the Witness as a reward for good behavior. I don't know how they got away with it. I mean really rent it and watch it you will see what I mean. I remember dating a senior when I was in 10th grade. She was also Italian, go figure, notice a pattern. I remember family trips to the beach, Florida, out west and to baseball games. I loved that time. The baseball games with my Dad are the most memorable moments with him. I remember scoring my first soccer goal on the freshmen team. I also remember getting my first yellow card in the same game.

I remember my parents moving to Indian Mills and how they allowed me to stay in Millville with high school friends. I remember moving back home after 6 months and I remember what it was like to find my Dad. I remember what that felt like, but I also remember the outpouring of people that came to the funeral. I specifically remember Mike Loyle and Paul Wilson coming to it and how that made such a difference. I remember when Dave's Place opened in Millville and how proud I was to be Dave's son. I remember how hard life got and how spread out we became as a family. I remember how strong my mom was though all of that.

I remember visiting WVU and then coming to WVU basically on a whim. I remember alot of partying, well not really remembering that. I do remember great friends that I still have today. Most importantly, I remember meeting Stacey. I remember working and just talking about ourselves and our lives. I remember her wrapping presents for me at Christmas time. I also remember some great kisses while wrapping the presents. I remember talking about her to my family and how I couldn't wait for them to meet. her. I remember flying her into Philadelphia and I remember how sick she got. I remember our car rides and our stops along the way. I remember visiting my grandfather with her and how she helped me tell him I loved him. I remember our wedding day and how beautiful she was. I remember the excitement of the honeymoon and almost missing our plane. I remember specifically coming home from school and she was waiting to tell me we were having a baby. I remember what a trooper she was for 22 hours giving birth to Drea. I remember her water breaking with Charlotte and how God answered our prayers for an easier labor. I remember fixing up our house and making changes to fit us. I remember how she thought I died after tailgating all day. I remember her surprising me with family and friends for my 30th birthday. I remember lots of things we have done and shared, good or bad I am glad that they have been with her. These are the things that I remember and this is my story. So far...

Weekend getaway to Bethany Beach

2011-05-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

We recently took a weekend getaway with our friends Emily, Joel, and their son, Teddy to Bethany Beach. Even though we didn't have the best weather, any day at the beach is a good day. We had a great time and enjoyed just be away and relaxing with friends.

Charlotte and Daddy trying to stay warm on the beach

The girls enjoying the beach

Drea and Charlotte loved playing with Teddy

Daddy dug a hole just because he could

Say, "Cheese!"

Awww

The water was freezing

I love this picture, look at all the kids, they so don't want to be in this picture

Finally some spring outside

2011-04-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

With a couple beautfiul days finally happening outside lately we were able to let the girls enjoy some time playing in the yard. They love playing with water and bubbles. I'm not sure who's brilliant idea colored bubbles were but I bougth them at Toys R Us because they looked fun. The pictures below prove that fact but the stains on my front porch speak otherwise. Nevertheless, the girls had a blast and sometimes that's all I care about. I'm sure if really tried to scrub the porch it would come out. Enjoy the pictures below.

Charlotte's Birthday Party

2011-04-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

My wife is amazing. In my mind there is nothing that she can not do. I think her dream job quite possibly would be a party planner. Her talent is on full display when it comes to our children's birthday parties. She thinks of everything. There isn't a detail that she doesn't forget. This year for Charlotte's 2nd birthday, Stacey went with a Dr. Seuss theme party. It just goes to show when you put your heart into something or someone good things happen.

Charlotte enjoying her cake

Dr. Seuss without green eggs....I think not!

One fish, two fish, red fish, orange fish

Charlotte's cake

Cheese Trees

Sweets anyone?

Some of the Dr. Seuss decorations

Overall, Charlotte's party was a success. She had a wonderful time and was blessed with many presents and more importantly the company of friends and family. Stacey put tons of time and effort into Charlotte's party and I don't know if the pictures really show everything that she put into it. As Stacey wrote in an early blog entry, I can't believe our baby is two.

Watch out! There's a girl in the office...

2011-03-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Remember my post back in June when I started my new job...about how weird it was working with a bunch of guys.

So as an addendum to that post, I was thinking the other day about what I bring to the office. Here's my list:

Cookouts, pizza parties, panini lunches, holiday parties, etc. - It was by accident I found out that they had previously had a cookout at some point. Once I was let in this secret, we were good to go. I couldn't believe no one had let me in on this information sooner. I have had so much fun planning things like tailgate parties, pizza parties for contract wins and panini lunches. Also, I was able to plan a Christmas party and my work doesn't have Christmas parties. It was great! I had so much fun planning and pulling it off!
Gifts - Lots of the guys I work with are in the having babies stage. So when one of them recently had a third child, I decided the "girl" in me can't take it anymore that we don't do anything for these guys and their family. I can handle it that we don't do a shower or anything because I know they wouldn't be able to take that but nothing....really, nothing. Couldn't take it any longer. So, I sent aroudn an email and asked who wanted in on a gift for this family. There was an overwhelming reaction! It made me realize that everyone is glad to have me around to do things like this. I know guys don't think of things like this all the time and I'm glad to take care of it. Count me in!
Word of the day - I instituted this new thing at work. It seems to have really sparked a lot of interest and people seem to be enjoying it. We come up with a word (made-up or real) and see if we can use it during the day. It started out as a joke because of a couple funny words people use and now it's turned into something fun.
Caption contest - Someone took pictures at the tailgate cookout and we put them all up on a big wall in the kitchen at work. Then placed post-it notes and pens so people could make-up captions they think could go with the photo. This was so much fun! People really came up with some funny things. Here's how I failed at this task...there was no real prize and judging of this "contest." I will have to get better at that. : )
Food! - I bring in cookies, candy, brownies, and all kinds of goodies all the time. They love it!
Kitchen Admin - Someone at my work has named me the "Kitchen Administrator." This is definitely my job. I keep the fridge clean, the counters wiped off, the dishes done, wash the hand towels and keep the supplies filled up. You can tell if I'm really busy and can't get to it because it all starts going downhill. I was criticized one time for not having the coffee made and I gave my usual excuse that I don't drink so I don't know how to make it. I said I don't know how many scoops and how much water. Then he opened the drawer with the prepackaged coffee bags in it, poured the pouch in the coffee filter and pushed a button to the attached hot water source that knows exactly how much to water to use. So I can no longer rely on my trusty "I don't drink coffee" excuse. I was informed as kitchen admin I have to make coffee. So, I was off on Friday...I'm very afraid to see what the kitchen will look like once I go back in on Monday. The counter will usually look like someone wiped poo all over it and the towels and smell in there will only second that opinion. Sometimes I think I work with complete slobs. Pigs...I call them. Pigs.
Prank Fridays - This was an epic fail! I tried to start Prank Fridays...I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea. It was not.

Most of these things spark commradery at the work place and encourage people to communicate and relate. My boss told me that was something I was good at and I needed to use my strengths to help others weaknesses. I love it. For me, it just helps me enjoy work more and if I can use my strengths to raise morale I'm all about it.

So...in short, I love my job! And mostly, I love what I bring to my job! I work with incredibly intelligent people and instead of usually feeling like I'm NOT, I feel like I bring a whole different thing to our office and I'm okay with that.

Yay for the girl in the office! What would they do without her.

Two years ago...

2011-03-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, I started getting to know a new person. I remember wondering what she would be like as I'm sure she wondered the same about me. We have grown to know each other well. I must say I'm head over heels for this adorable little two year old named Charlotte.

I was putting her to bed tonight after a long day of birthday celebrations and I was thinking about the day we first met. She was so new and the mystery of what her personality would be, who she would look like and what her voice would sound like was very real. It was interesting to me that I remember that feeling. I don't usually remember a lot of things sometimes and get upset with myself for having such a horrible memory...but this feeling I remember.

Charlotte is our sweet little soul with a fiery side. We tend to call her our bully but we will always know she can take care of herself when it comes down to it and one day this could be important. She can turn off this trait and be a soft, cuddly, sweet little girl when she wants to be. In fact, some people don't believe she possesses the fiery quality but that's what makes her so ornery to me. She can "innocently" hide it! :)

She also loves to help and be a part of anything we are doing. Her helpful personality makes cleaning and fixing things interesting sometimes because she insists on having a hand in the activities. We love it. And it's a great influence on her older sister! We also love the way she makes Drea laugh! Our girls could spend hours laughing at each other.

Charlotte is our shy girl...who enjoys being a ham sometimes. Weird, I know, but really, around a crowd she will sometimes go in her shell and insist on being attached to my hip. Then once she gets comfortable she enjoys some of the attention she gets from showing off a little. She's like her daddy in this manner. Andy can be shy and hang out in the background around a crowd he's not so familiar with but after a few meetings with this crowd he gets to know people and get used to them and will be out going and silly.

She loves to be outside and has lately been escaping whenever she sees the door left a little open. (Scary, I know.) Currently, she loves Yo Gabba Gabba, could eat macaroni and cheese all day long, and is in love with her milk. Charlotte is our "not-so-girly" girl. She likes to play trucks and do a wide variety of activities that don't necessarily involve dolls.

Anyway, I might not have known much about her when she first joined us two years ago (except for her kicking pattern) but she sure has made an impression in our hearts thus far. I can't imagine loving two little girls anymore than my Drea and Charlotte.

Happy 2nd birthday Charlotte! We love you to pieces munchkin.

Our big two year old.

Charlotte trying on headbands for Nunnie. This is as far as it gets. She won't wear them past looking herself in the mirror and letting Nunnie take pictures.

Charlotte and her little friend Elijah. These two are adorable!

Charlotte waking up from her nap for her birthday party.

Me and my girls.

I love this picture.

Stacey's Good Deals

2011-03-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

Stacey and I have been looking for a new table for a few years now. We were looking for a counter height table. We looked at several places with the best deal at Sam's for around $600. After talking it over we had decided to wait until the summer, that is, until Stacey's friend Diana suggested going to the auction. So off the girls went to the auction with one goal in mind to find a table. Of course, when Stac has a goal in mind she is going to be successful. So here it is and at the low cost of $190. There was never a doubt in my mind that she would pull it off.

These pictures don't do the table quite the justice it deserves. This table is huge and beautiful! Plus, we have an extra leaf for it, which makes the table a big square. It's awesome!

Here is another pic of our new table, notice in the background our new lamp. Stacey got that at "Swap 'til you drop" event the ladies at the church had.

Charlotte's Videos

2011-02-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

Charlotte singing the milk song

She is saying "I love milk-y"...and yes, that is her 5 yr old sister (who is starved for attention) being a dog in the background.

Charlotte saying some new words and phrases

She is saying "peanut butter" and "shut the door".

Of course, we couldn't get Drea's video to upload so now we seem partial. =)

Drea stories

2011-02-20T20:39:00.000-08:00

The girls and I do a variety of silly things together and one of their favorite things is to pretend to go to the doctor. Well, a doctors visit consist of a few different things. First, I check their ears for potatoes. Next, their nose for boogers and their teeth to see if they are shiny. Then, "follow my finger with your eyes." I check their reflexes by tapping their knees. The "appointment" always ends with me telling them to raise their arms and I tickle them. Charlotte has yet to figure this out or...she just enjoys the tickling. Drea on the other hand always says, "No, Daddy you are going to tickle me!" I always respond by, saying, "I promise I will not tickle you this time." We go back and forth for awhile and then, of course, she gives in and then I tickle her. The other night Drea suggested that she be the doctor. When she got to the end, she, of course said, "Daddy, raise your arms, I promise I won't tickle you." I told her, "Drea, I don't believe you." We went back and forth about it until I finally raised my arms. Drea didn't lie. She didn't tickle me.....she punched me.

Drea has molluscum contagiosum, it looks like little water blisters on her skin. (Our friend and dermatologist has been treating them.) Anyway, Stacey thought it may be a good idea to explain to Drea that God can heal her spots. That conversation led to Stacey telling Drea that God doesn't make people sick. Somehow that lead to a conversation about the devil being responsible for these things. In the beginning of the conversation it was going well, but at some point Drea got scared. (Stacey insists that I note she probably did not say the right things and probably should not have mentioned any of this right before bedtime.) The reason I bring this up is the next story. ~ Drea and I were praying one night and she said "Dad, I'm scared. Can you pray that the devil doesn't get me." I said sure and explained to her that she didn't need to be scared because God is in her heart. She shot back with, "Dad, I think the devil is in your heart." I asked her why she thought that. She said because I get angry. I explained to her that, I am a person and I make mistakes and I am not perfect. Wow, out of the mouths of babes.

Drea is such a sensitive soul. She seems to get upset and cry over the simplest things. She has cried over her sister changing the channel. She gets upset when we leave family or friends houses. When I say upset, I mean...a loud cry, followed by sobbing and tears. Now as much as I wish Drea would sometimes express her sadness in another way it is her sensitivity makes her who she is. This same trait is the same reason why she recently took the time to make Valentine's card for some of her friends even though it was after Valentines Day. She didn't get to see them on the 14th so she needed to make them something.

I heart Fancy Nancy

2011-02-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Drea is in love with The Fancy Nancy books like I'm sure many other little girls are currently. I just wanted to comment on how much I love them too!

Nancy, the main character, loves to be fancy...of course! She is engulfed in a family that is pretty plain but she doesn't let that make her who she is. She stands out as the eccentric, fashionable, frilly-loving member of her family. That is Drea. She could live in a dress or skirt but we force her to wear pants in the winter at least under those dresses (we're awful, I know!) She doesn't necessarily take it as far as Nancy but if she could I think she would. I love that this character encourages Drea to be who she wants to be even if its not always the same as the rest of us. So...uniqueness (that's fancy for one of a kind) is one of the reasons I love Fancy Nancy and what Drea is learning from it.

The other reason I love Fancy Nancy books....vocabulary, vocabulary, vocabulary! The words that Drea 's learning are amazing me. In the books, Nancy uses a more advanced vocabulary and tells the reader the meaning of each word. Of course, they do it in a way that makes kids like Drea excited to learn them just by calling them fancy words. I quiz Drea on these words often and she usually remembers what most of them mean and uses some of them in her everyday speech now. Fancy Nancy also has me thinking. The concept of the books has made me stop trying to use words that I'm sure Drea would understand and instead use the words I would normally use. I make sure to tell her what the word is fancy for (I know horrible english.) I think she actually hears what I'm telling her because I'm relating it to the way she learns it from Nancy. Oh that Nancy, she's the best! She's teaching me stuff too!

PS. I think Drea likes her because "Nancy" is her Nunnie's name, too.

Example of My Fancy Nancy:
These aren't great pictures but this is after Drea received her Sketchers Twinkle Toes from Nunnie for her birthday that apparently she wanted really bad. They are sparkly if you can't tell. Super sparkly and they light up. I have never really been a fan of light-up shoes but she thinks they are the best thing she owns. As you can see she had to add her super ruffle skirt on with these to feel extra fancy for her birthday dinner. These are pictures of her dancing around in them in sheer excitement!

Just a side note to this blog...when talking about books I wanted to add this note about Drea and reading. (Note: This is not to brag but rather to document so we can remember one day when she asks us what she could do at certain stages in her life.) Below are pages out of a book that was sent home with her from daycare for her homework one night. She can read this book and only needed help sounding out a few of the words. Andy and I have her read for us sometimes but we have to admit that we were blown away by her ability to read this book. Amazed! We have also been astounded by watching the change in her from noticing letters all around her to reading words all around her. She really tries to read everything. This change excites me! Watching a person go from not reading to seeing letters put together to form words in cool.

Down with Valentine.

2011-02-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

I have always been a Valentine cynic as long as I can remember. It just always seemed that the holiday was silly. Why we spend one day a year going overboard to make our loves feel special is beyond me. We should be making them feel like our Valentine all year long, right? Yes. But do we do that? No. So I should stop being cynical about it, right? But for some reason, the people we are not nice to...our loves. The people we will be so quick to be mean to...our Valentines. Why is that? Why is it that we can be so nice to strangers, even going so far as to pay for the car behind you in the toll booth but sometimes its so hard to speak only kind words of love to the people that are the closest to us.

It finally dawned on me today. I don't have to be wrapped up in all the hubbub of the holiday. I'm using this day to celebrate! Celebrate my husband. Celebrate my wonderful little girls. Celebrate the life I have because of these awesome people. Maybe that's what the day was already supposed to be about but it has always been clouded by the commercialism of the holiday. I plan on making a resolution today to celebrate the loves in my life and use this opportunity to make them feel special everyday.

So today I spent the day celebrating my husband, our marriage, our children, our love...and it was wonderful! What a great Valentines' Day!

Charlotte's language

2011-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

Everyone who has a child under two knows you have to speak their language to understand them. This is a feat in itself sometimes. We think Charlotte speaks French. Ha ha! We really have trouble understanding her. We are finally beginning to speak Charlotte's language. Here are some of her words and the real words (not many though because most of the other things she says are so foreign we have no clue):

den-dent: blanket
bubbie pood: puppy food
shuuz: shoes
gockies: socks
jackies: jacket
helpoo: Can I help you? Or sometimes this means "Can you help me?"
poon: spoon
bobble: bottle
bayee: belly
melmo: Elmo
i wobu: I love you.
hap-a-dirde-to-you: happy birthday to you. (She sings it all the time!)

Words she says perfectly clear:
*Yo Gabba Gabba (Hilarious, I know! I didn't even know she had watched the show before when she started demanding it one day.)
*Cheese
*TV
*Nose
*Eyes
*Poppy Jo (little girl at her daycare)
*Pizza
*Pasta (she says both of these brilliantly! Like she's pure italian and doing some hand motion at the end of it! PastAAAAA!)

Here are some cute pictures of our littliest munchkin! She's pure funny lately! Well, mixed with a lot of rotten.

Daddy caught her "reading" to herself. Loved it!

Drea and Charlotte catching a morning show.

Snow Tub with Drea.

Trying to wake Drea up one morning.

She thought feeding her apples would do the trick.

I was trying to capture her new found curls. Look at the long one over her ear. They are usually only there after bath time.

Helping me wash grapes.

Electronic overload!

PS - Right after I posted this post, Charlotte seems to be throwing out all of these full sentences and they are super clear. I put her on her changing table the other day and started changing her diaper and she said, "Don't touch me." I swear it was in a sweet little baby voice and not the little scary voice you probably hear in your head when you read this. : ) Another day Andy was tickling her and she said, "Don't tickle me, Daddy." This was in her best serious voice like she did not want any part of that nonsense for the evening. Love it!

Random Pictures and Thoughts

2011-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Today, as I stayed home with the girls during one of our many snow days, I wanted to share some pictures and some thoughts about the girls and our family. First, some pictures and then some random musings.

In the first picture it is Charlotte just being Charlotte. She is all over the place and as you can see sometimes that involves getting a ride from the dog. I am quite sure Jersey probably doesn't like it, but is happy for the attention. The other pictures are Drea painting with the art easel. Drea is such the little artist. She enjoys coloring, cutting, pasting, and any other art type things. She usually puts all her effort into her art work and Stacey and I enjoy the results.

Here is Drea at her birthday party, she is such the fashion queen

Drea working the runway

These were all taken at Drea's birthday party. She had such a wonderful time and she was so happy. Stacey did a great job planning and organizing her party. Drea is lucky to have such a wonderful mother and I am lucky to have such a great wife.

Swimming at FSU

This picture was taken at Fairmont State University. Drea's friend Madison turned 5 and celebrated her party there with swimming and ice cream. We had a blast.

Making snow cones on a snow day

Say, "Cheese!"

Drea and Momma

Dancing Queen

Pretending to nap

Stacey was talking to someone recently and they were saying to her that when you have a sister close to you in age you will always have a friend. We both couldn't agree with that statement more. Drea and Charlotte love each other so much it is obvious. They both have their own unique qualities that make them special. The thing that I am impressed with is how much Drea loves to laugh at and with her sister. Charlotte is a little comedian and Drea thinks so, too. On the other hand, Charlotte looks up to everything Drea does and is constantly following her in her footsteps. Stacey and I are extremely blessed to have such wonderful girls and we are glad that we can share them with all of you.

Finally Christmas

2011-01-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

So like most people we had a very busy Christmas. We had before Christmas, Christmas parties, during Christmas family gatherings, and of course the very popular after Christmas, Christmas party. However, even though we were busy I never felt like it was too much. We enjoyed our time with coworkers, friends, and family getting the right amount of time with all.

Santa came to visit at Stacey's Aunt and Uncle's home on Christmas Eve

Oh, family traditions....singing and acting out the 12 days of Christmas

The girls sitting in the wagon Santa bought them.

Our children are extremely blessed. It seemed they got presents everywhere they went. We really appreciated all the gifts that we received over the holidays and it was a joy to see how excited the girls were when they got something. It was also great to see Drea starting to understand to be more grateful for the presents she did receive and how to act when she got something she may not like or already have.

Stacey, Charlotte, and Drea enjoying Christmas morning

Andy and Stacey at the Bilotta's on Christmas Day

Jody and Chad

Brianna, Jeremy, and Nunnie

Uncle Tony and Danielle

Aunt Kareen and Uncle Ben

The girls enjoying one of their Christmas gifts

During our Christmas break we went to a friends to go sledding. Drea appears to look like she was having fun, but really she felt more like Charlotte looks. It was just too cold for Charlotte and Drea was scared going so fast down the hill. I'm sure Drea will grow out of it and enjoy sledding. She never really liked staying outside in the snow until this year and now I am ready long before she is to go in.

January 7th, 2011 - Drea turned 5

2011-01-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

As I said in the previous post, Drea turned 5 on Friday. We enjoy making our kids feel super special on their birthdays...probably because I love feeling special on my birthday. In fact, I was telling Drea that the best part about your birthday is that it's one day when all the people that love you are thinking about you and you get lots of attention. I knew she would care about that as much as I do!

I left work a few hours early and took her for a special trip to the library. I know some of you may think, "really, the library?" My little reader loves books and adores the library. How could you not...all of those rows and rows of organized books...it's like book heaven. When Charlotte joined our family, trips to the library have been close to null. It's hard to go with a baby in tow and now at the toddler age I imagine her ripping books off the shelf faster than I can put them back in their place. I digress...I picked Drea up from daycare and left Charlotte there (which was her naptime anyway.) She loved it! It was a little surprise I knew she would enjoy. It was very special to her. In fact, this excursion made me realize that I should do this other times with her so she gets more one-on-one with us.

We let her choose the birthday dinner spot. Cheddars was the pick! Yay, no Burger King this year! She also asked to go to Cold Stone Creamery after that...with no objection from us. It was delicious and she really enjoyed the evening. We gave her a couple gifts from us...a Fancy Nancy book (which she's really into) and tickets to go see Sesame Street Live with us (which is this weekend!) The only thing that could have made the evening...if Charlotte's milk cup would NOT have busted open and dumped milk all over her and I and if Charlotte's nose would NOT have bloodied after bumping it on the table.

Drea is into having matching things with her sister. I have indulged her lately because I'm sure one day they will never want to look alike at all. I realized I hadn't taken pictures of them in their cute matching stuff and everyone's always saying how cute they are.

Seeing improvement helps

2011-01-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

My oldest little princess turned FIVE on Friday. Who knew that this time would go by so fast? Oh wait, everyone does and they tell you that. I should have listened better because it really does…it really does.

I will post some birthday pictures later probably along with Christmas pictures and all kinds of other catch-up posts. So beware, we may have a new post ever day this week. Yeah, that will be funny.

I have to tell you how proud I have been of Drea. We are certainly watching her turn into a sweet, little lady right in front of us. Our focus lately during our teachable moments has been on gratefulness and for good reason. We were seeing a lot of “gimme, gimme, gimme” attitude and not much thankfulness. I tend to get extremely concerned about this issue especially this time of year with the present extravaganza that is Christmas and a birthday two weeks later. So we were doing multiple exercises to encourage the behaviors we expect in our household.

On Friday, we took Drea out to dinner and ice cream for her birthday. I picked her up from daycare early and took her for a special trip to the library before dinner. We had a wonderful time doing all of these things and we kept noting how much she was thanking us and genuinely appreciative. The next day I was preparing for her party and she jumped on the computer and started "coloring" pages her favorite website. After printing many of her creations, she asked me to make a list of her party guests. Then she wrote each name on a drawing, folded it up, stuffed it in an envelope (and by "stuffed", I literally mean some of them look stuffed in the envelope.) and then wrote their name on the envelope also. She was so diligent about it. In fact, I kind of figured she would only make a few and then get interested in something else but that wasn't the case. We even made her stop for bedtime and she woke up to finish them in the morning. My brother was at my house on Saturday night and asked me if I told her to do that for everyone. I hadn't. I hadn't a thought about it in my head at all. I was so proud of her for thinking about her guests. She even stuffed all of their goody bags for the party and decided which color each person would like and instructed me to write their names on the bags because she wanted them to have the bag she put together for them. She was so excited for them to receive it. At the party Sunday she seemed more interested in her friends getting their envelopes than what she was getting. Well...at first...once the party got into full swing and her entertaining gene kicked in, some of the guests that got there later also received their envelope later.

This may not seem like much to some but to us all the little things all week helped me see the fruits of the lessons we have been teaching. I have seen her completely grateful for all that she has been given and has really learned how to express it. And maybe it's just due to the excitement of her birthday but I don't think so. We have struggled with the "more presents, more presents" thing for a while and to watch her seem happier to be near her family and friends during her brithday was a huge win for us. Her "thank yous" for simple acts we do for her has increased. Her general attitude seems to not be as much "give me" anymore.

We are very pleased with what we have seen lately and we do know that its no time to slack off now. We need to be persistent and continue to work on this. Andy and I tend to not be very consistent so my goal is to continue to work on this area even if we start a new focus.

Beware, we have so many posts to catch up on from the holidays, birthdays and winter fun that there might be quite a few back to back here this week.

Random Thoughts from both of us

2010-12-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

Both of the girls seem to be picky eaters right now. There regular diet seems to consist of pasta and dairy. They would choose to eat cheese and yogurt or drink milk over pretty much any other food with the exception of cookies and candy. The most they get of any other nutrition is the bite or two they are forced to try of other foods.   ~ Stacey

We try to teach the girls to not call people mean names and use general terms that aren't nice like stupid, dumb, fat, etc. It's funny to hear them correct you even when you are using the term in a manner that's not necessarily calling someone dumb. Drea corrected Pappaw during the bowl game when he referred to a play as "dumb." She said "Pappaw, that's bad manners." I figure if she reminds us not to use the words even in a different manner it will simply help us sound more positive about situations. Another funny aside to this thought...tonight at the dinner table, I said my piece of meat had a lot of fat on it and Drea said "Mommy, that is not a very nice word."   ~ Stacey

Charlotte is like a little old Italian lady, she is always trying to feed you, ever if you are not hungry. ~ Andy

One of my favorite things Charlotte is doing right now is at bed time. After we leave Charlotte in her crib, she has been screaming I love you, to whoever laid her down. She doesn't stop until you finally tell her it's night, night time. ~ Andy

Yesterday we were letting the kids play at the Morgantown Mall play area and Andy sat and talked to a man sitting beside him who is a stay-at-home dad. He is always jealous of stay-at-home dads and thinks he would love to be one. They apparently got to know each other really well because Andy knew his life story and told me all of it on the way home from the mall. All I have to say is...don't get any idea, Andy. ~ Stacey

While I sitting with the stay-at-home dad, I was watching Charlotte and Drea play. So this 4 yr old girl that was there all of a sudden starts getting in Charlotte's face.  I feel like its a good idea to let the girls handle things on their own. Anyway, so I just sat back and watched.  Apparently, Charlotte did not like it, she grabbed the girl by her hair and the little girl started to cry. I am not condoning pulling hair and being mean, but the girl deserved it. ~ Andy

Drea has been so excited about turning 5 but I have to admit it seems unreal to me. I remember when my friend's child turned 5 and I thought I wonder what it will feel like to have a 5 year old. Well, I'll let you know next Friday when my baby turns 5. ~ Stacey

Stacey and I take turns putting each of the kids to bed. One night I put Drea to bed and the next night Charlotte and vice versa because Charlotte doesn't sit well for Drea's long stories yet. For some reason, when I put Drea to bed, she always wants to kiss me good night like a dog. I thought Charlotte was the one that wanted to be a dog, I guess it is both of them. ~ Andy

Drea's three favorite phrases:" I promise ya," "Here's the rule," and "Daddy, I got an idea." ~ Andy

Organizing my new planner every year is one of the most satisfying things to me. I'm not sure why I love it so much maybe it's the way I try to write super perfect and in the beginning of the year the planner still looks neat and pretty. Maybe it's transferring all of my addresses and phone numbers. Maybe it's filling in all of the pre-scheduled doctors appointments and such that had been penciled in the year-at-a-glance section and waiting to get on the next real, full calendar. So, I'm not sure if you can understand how I feel about my new organizer but just know it brings me great joy. ~ Stacey

The gateway connector is finally finished. It is really nice and convenient for us. We really like it. Now we are just waiting for a 6 digit offer from some business to want to build here. ~ Andy

I wasn't going to mention it...but I could so be a stay-at-home Dad. The girls and I have had so much fun for the past 8 days I have been off of school. If I can only get them to double Stacey's salary. ~ Andy

Thanksgiving

2010-12-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Some of you may know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the fact that family gets together and spends time together. I know sometimes when family gets together it doesn't always go as planned, but it's family and no matter what it is wonderful. That is one of the best things about being married to Stacey. Not only do I get to be with her, I get her family as well. However, this year instead of being in WV for Thanksgiving the Niessners piled in the car and headed to NJ to spend time with my family. We missed everyone back in WV, but it was great to see my family and spend time with my sister and her family.

Drea and Brynn playing Disney DVD bingo

Charlotte and Lydia playing, too.

Brynn, Drea, Lydia, and Charlotte had a great time seeing each other and spending every possible minute together. I don't recall talking to Drea in the five days we were there because all the kids did was play.

The girls jumping on Noni's bed

Now I would be lying if I didn't say I love Thanksgiving because of the food. Who doesn't, Thanksgiving food is the best and then there is leftovers. It doesn't get better than that. Charlotte would agree.

Could Charlotte have more plates in front of her

Cousins: Lydia, Charlotte, Brynn, and Drea

We had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving and it was great seeing my family and spending the holiday with them.

September Photo Session: The ones that wouldn't make it

2010-11-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

A friend of ours took some pictures for us of the girls in September. You can see one of these photos as the header of our blog. While looking through them to decide what to order I noticed that I love a lot of them...most of them, because the girls look so sweet and many just because my friend (Marci Cochran) is an exceptional photographer. Then I started to realize how many I love that wouldn't necessarily end up framed on the wall. They are the ones that wouldn't quite make it but I think they are great because they capture some great family moments. Below are some of those shots. The ones that I might not put up on the wall but I can't wait to have a photo book made that can have the good shots and the shots it took to get to the good shots. ~ And they are still great shots to me.

This is a typical day in our house. Drea usually tries to love on Charlotte
and Charlotte always acts like she's annoyed.

Charlotte trying to get on my lap, I think.

My girls climbing all over me. I seem to be a human jungle gym and most days
it makes me giggle...not every day...but most.

Attempts to get the kids set-up in the grass for a picture ended up in a tickle match because that's what usually happens in our house when Daddy lays down on the floor.

I think Charlotte wants to see what Marci is seeing.

Attempts at another family shot but Charlotte has the same face in every one of them. She was not enjoying herself.

Pictures

2010-11-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

Andy didn't post my favorite picture from our trip to Rich Farms.

Drea took this picture of Andy and I when we all went on the hayride.

Two of my other favorite pictures that I love from Rich Farms are below:

Couple Trick-or-Treat pictures. Drea was Princess Tiana, Charlotte was Tinkerbell, Barrett was a dragon and Tyler was a shark. I was very proud that I didn't have to spend a dime on costumes. The girls wanted to be costumes we already had in their dress-up box!

Tearing up the carpet in our bedroom. Charlotte loves to be a big helper! She helps with everything. I love it and it's starting to rub off on Drea.

Just a cute picture of my girls hanging out together.

Our visit to the Farm

2010-11-02T11:54:00.001-07:00

Every fall the Niessners go to Rich's Farm in Smithfield, PA. Here are some pictures of our trip this year. I was having some issues posting these pictures and adding text. I decided just to leave it as it is and hope you enjoy just the pics.

Mom jeans

2010-10-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

So I always wondered at what age and why people start wearing mom jeans.

The other day I looked at the pants I had on at work and realized they come up above my belly and almost all the way to my waist. And a thought struck me...I think almost every pair of pants I own come up this far! I immediately realized that I have now entered the "mom jean" era. I now know that after your belly has stretched to be the size of a basketball and then shrunk back (almost) to the original size...twice...among other weight fluctuations of 20lbs up or down, it seems appropriate to cover that extra skin that may never be taunt again with pant material otherwise known as "mom jeans."

The only other thing I can say about this random blog is thank goodness for Spanx. For my few pair of pants that are still sitting below the belly button on the hips, my spanx keep it all looking sucked in. (By the way, I really don't spend a gajillion dollars on Spanx, I buy the $10 Wal Mart kind.)

Oh and at least my pants are not pleated, pegged, tapered, or elastic waist. I still look semi-modern and I can deal with that.

Stacey

The Girls

2010-09-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent cute stories and videos about the girls.

DREA:

Drea making a silly face

Here are some random Drea stories:

1. I would say about once a month, maybe a little longer, while putting Drea to bed and after praying, we discuss a few things. Sometimes I remind Drea that she can come to Mommy & Daddy about anything. I may tell her things like she is my favorite 4 and a half year old. Other times I will tell her she can be anything she wants when she grows up. Usually when I do this it sparks a conversation. The other night was no different. She went on with the usual things that she wants to be, Mountaineer, cheerleader, doctor, etc.... Finally, she stopped and said, "Daddy, Do you know what I really want to be?" "What", I asked. Her response, "A Dolphin!"

2. The other morning I was getting dressed and I was wearing boxer briefs (hope that wasn't TMI). Drea says, "Daddy, what are you wearing?" and then laughed. I guess it wasn't a good look for me.

3. Drea gets a lot of joy in changing our answering machine message. She also thinks she is funny. The other night she is messing around with the answering machine and she changed the message to say, "This is the Niessners we can't get to the phone right now, we are on the potty, bye." I made her change it.

CHARLOTTE:

Charlotte has been talking so much more lately. It seems like she says something new every day. She is really into saying one word phrases. One of her favorites is, "Mine!" She is also a fan of "Hey!" So we were very excited when she learned another one word phrase. Watch and listen to this video:

Here are two more videos of Charlotte talking and having a good time at the dinner table.

Annual Niessner Labor Day Zoo Trip

2010-09-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Momma and her girls looking at....I don't remember. Maybe the lions.

My brother, Chad, my sister-in-law, Jody, and my nephew, Barrett met up with us at the zoo. The kids had lots of fun...playing on the rocks. Next year, we are going to make it an annual trip to a rock because they have just as much fun playing on the rocks. Except I believe this was right before Barrett fell off of the rock onto his face. He couldn't seem to stay on his feet that day.

Looking at the monkeys. Pretty sure Barrett and Charlotte are coming up with a plan to help the monkeys break out of this joint.

Awww, sisterly love.

Cousins.

Again, found a cool tunnel to play in. I think it's really a bear trap or something.

They do have cool little playgrounds at the Pittsburgh zoo. The kids always really enjoy them.

It's a face-off between Barrett and Charlotte. My money's on Charlotte...what do you think Jody?

Andy and the Mountaineers

2010-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

Andy is always graced with a birthday close to the beginning of Mountaineer football season. And he loves it. What better way to kick-off your next year than with the excitement and hubbub centered around our university's cherished tradition of football. I believe it helps him not focus on the number he just added to his age.

So I'm focusing this post on Andy's presents and dinner on his birthday with his cute little family (yeah, that's us.) Concluding the post with pictures from the best part of his birthday week...having his cute family with him at the first WVU football game of the season.

Showing off Daddy's birthday presents - new tennis gear. Yes, Drea's holding up my new racket...I know, it was Andy's birthday but I got a new racket too but how else can I ever come close to beating him. We decide last time we played that we have had the same rackets for at least 9 years.

Out to Red Lobster for Daddy's birthday dinner. Thank goodness for gift cards that place is way too expensive anymore. Drea loved the biscuits just like her Daddy and Charlotte went bonkers for the macaroni and cheese.

Barrett with his pull up on his head and taling on my phone - I think this was his special gift to Andy because it was hilarious.

Charlotte mocking Barrett...go figure.

WVU vs. Coastal Carolina.

This is Drea and her friend, Alyanna. Her family sits right behind us so we get to visit every season.

Drea, cheering her heart out for her Mountaineers.

Charlotte "cheesing" with Daddy.

Nunnie was able to come to the game with us. She loved getting to hold her Drea during her third quarter nap. Drea has probably taken a nap during every home game she has attended since she was born.

Charlotte hearts kettle corn.

Well, Andy, we always enjoy your birthday as much as you do. (Well, I got a tennis racket out of it.) Who doesn't love a night out with the best dad and husband in the world and a great Mountaineer football weekend. We love you Andy!

Family Camping 2010

2010-09-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

I'm catching up on some end of the summer picture blogs. Here are some shots from our camping weekend with our friends, Dave, Kevin, Amber and Mackenzie. This was our annual family camping trip and this year we decided to venture to Deep Creek in Marlyand. The area is really beautiful there. We would love to go back even to just take the kids to the beach again there. Drea and Mackenzie loved the beach and Andy enjoyed getting to kayak. I forgot my camera that day so you won't see any of those pictures. It was supposed to be kayaking with the kids but that didn't work out as planned. We also took a hike down to Swallow Falls on Sunday and ended our weekend with great pizza at Brenda's Pizzeria and ice cream at the Lakeside Creamery. Here are some of the pictures from our adventure.

Mackenzie and Drea playing in the tent.

Charlotte wasn't very happy that the big girls were playing without her.

Charlotte enjoying a fire with Amber.

Morning girls. Ready for the day to begin.

Breakfast clean-up time.

This was on our hike to Swallow Falls. Mackenize and Drea wanted to be adventurous and not walk on the path.

I love this picture.

I think they were looking at some waterfall or something.

Friends.

A good scenery shot.

The falls were beautiful and worth the sweat back up to the top.

Thanks Tennants and Dave Shaver - another successful camping trip. We always enjoy our adventures with you guys and look forward to it every year.

Link

2010-09-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a minute to plug on e of my links on the right hand side of this page because I'm really enjoying it.
iMom is a great parenting site with lots of good articles, information and tips. Their tagline is "Inspiration. Ideas. Information. Insight." I am getting exactly that out of it so far.

I signed up for their daily emails and I enjoy reading the quick little paragraph each morning. At the end of each email there is a section called "Tonight's Pillow Talk." It gives you an idea of something to ask your kids and talk about with them. All too often I think we do a lot of talking AT our kids and not a lot of talking WITH them or listening to them. So I have been trying to use this avenue in bedtime discussions with Drea. The other day the question was, Do you think our home is super clean, kind of clean, just right, kind of messy, or super messy? And what do you think about that? Great question! I loved the thought of gauging what your child really thinks about that which you slave over to "make a good home for them." Anyway, the answer turned out okay for us. : ) I just enjoyed getting to listen to her and I know she enjoyed that I wanted her opinion. Anyway, there have been a lot of other interesting questions (not just about your house.)

Anyway, I know many of us don't need something else to read daily or another website to visit so I just wanted to share something with you from the daily email this morning. It's a quick, little story called "A Man, a Mugger and a Miracle." I think it might be the easiest if I share the link. Feel free to read it if you want.

http://www.imom.com/page.php?id=188

Have a great day!

Oh, by the way...there is also a site for dads called AllProDad. I was trying to remember how I found these sites and then I remembered my friend Ben Young mentioned them on his blog. Thanks Ben!

Task-oriented

2010-09-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

I am task-oriented. Sometimes this is my positive character trait. I can get things done. I can usually get things done quickly. I can multi-task (well except when it comes to carrying on a conversation.) I am pretty efficient and can find the best way to get things done (or at least the best way for me.) Like I said, this can be a positive trait and an asset to those around me. My goal usually all day long is to get things done. Accomplish things. Completing a task, any task, is accomplishing things to me.

Last night I was contemplating like many other times before, how this can absolutely, positively be one of my biggest downfalls at the same time. Throughout my whole day, I incur task after task. Whether it's ironing what I will wear for the day, making dinner, or getting the girls ready for the day, everything is about getting something done. I find I have trouble relaxing and just enjoying moments without reminding myself that the current task needs to get done.

Getting the girls ready for bedtime is when I realize this the most. For me, it's all about completing the job. Making it from point A to point B by an appropriate bed time. Making it to lights out before hours have somehow flown by. When I give the girls a bath, I'm not sure if they get to have much fun because I need to get everyone washed and out of the tub to complete that task and move on to the next.

This is such a huge battle for me. I want my girls to enjoy time with me and not think I am constantly moving them along to the next task. Why can't I stop and breathe for a minute and not worry about getting them in bed so the job is complete. I want to stop thinking about the next thing that needs done as soon as I get the current thing done. (Sorry, I'm not using the best and most eloquent language, but I think you get it.)

Tonight I was reading to Charlotte and kept looking up at the clock thinking about how late it was getting. We needed to wrap this up, get to bed and check Charlotte's bedtime off the list for the evening. Then Charlotte pulled a book off the shelf that I had bought for Drea. It's called Dreams for My Daughter. I read the whole thing to her (even though she stopped paying attention to it well into the second page) and it made me think about the dreams I do have for my girls. How I want to take the time to tell them and love on them. It made me contemplate this personality trait I possess and how I can turn it off before my girls only remember me as the mom who rushed them along to the next task. I love them so much! I can't believe every day that God has given me these beautiful little people to care for and help mold. I only hope I can slow down and help point them towards their dreams and not miss the true moments.

Dreams for My Daughter
by Polly Blair

Every day you surprise me, impress and inspire me.
I loved you before I even saw your face.
I dreamed of the fun we'd have together
and of the tea parties we would host.
My daughter, while I can't be with you every step of the way,
my arms and heart are always open for you,
and I wish for you these gifts:
An ocean-wide sense of wonder
and an open heart for love.
I wish for you the joy of catching snowflakes on your tongue,
playing with best friends,
getting lost in a good book,
and time to dream.
I wish you remember to test the water first,
but know sometimes you will just need to jump in!
I wish for you the joy of giving, and forgiving, and of giving thanks.
I wish for you to know that you will find rainbows even on umbrella days.
I wish for you the gift of knowing that mistakes are part of growing
Hurts will heal, because you'll find that laughter is truly the best medicine.
I treasure every time we giggle together, cry together, and smile together.
My daughter, you are my bright star.
You sparkle and glitter and shine.
I wish for every day to be a wonderful adventure.
There is nothing you can't do.
I believe in you.

My new little treasures

2010-08-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite stores EVER is The Container Store. It's this organizational heaven that has any and every type of jar, bucket, bowl, bin, drawer, jug, shelf, or any other type of storage container you can imagine...hence, the name. The also have random things sometimes too.

I visited one of these stores before in Columbus, Ohio. It was an escape into a dream world for me where you could easily spend hours without even realizing it. My dream job would probably be a professional organizer. My house doesn't always reflect this but for me organizing someone else's world is even more satisfying.

We don't have a Container Store close to us but I often visit their website when I'm looking for an organizational solution. I wanted to show you my recent finds because I get excited like a little kid.

This is our new toothbrush holder. How cute is that? Our bathroom is green and white and our old toothbrush holder was getting yucky no matter how much I cleaned it.

This is a pet hair lifter I ordered. Classification: random stuff. Like I said sometimes they have random things but it works pretty good. I'm always interested in new and different ways to keep the pet hair off of things.
AND.....my most treasured purchase lately is....shoe boxes. I have always liked keeping my shoes in their original boxes because they stack in the closet nicely and I thought easier to find until I saw these above. How much easier to find your shoes when you can see exactly which shoe is in a box. They stack so neatly because they are all the same size. So after salivating over them for a really long time I finally talked Andy into letting me get them. We were so busy for a while I didn't even get to take them out of the box. When I did find the time it was so much fun to put them together and organize my shoes. I was so proud of my beautiful closet that I had to take a picture of it to show someone because how oftern to people come in our bedroom. So here it is...my pride and joy...my closet.

Isn't it beautiful?! I am so pleased with it. You can't see all of the boxes because some of them are below, too.

These boxes aren't only for shoes...they show this other image on the website for an additional view so you can see that they can be used for many, many things. Doesn't that just look like a masterpiece? I know what you are thinking...I can't believe you spent your money on boxes. Boxes. They are only $1.79 each although if you buy their case of 20 the are $6 cheaper. It was worth it to me.

Cinderella

2010-08-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Party in the Park, South Ridge Church's community party at 5th Street park. Drea and Charlotte had such a blast. Playing with their friends, getting their face painted, bouncy houses, prizes and who can forget...cookies.

After turning in our prize tickets, we noticed the "bookshelf" with FREE books on it for each child. This was the best prize my kids could have won. They love books! (Thank you Debbie Burgett for your giving heart.)

Drea picked out a Cinderella chapter book. Tonight we read this book at bedtime and it was very trying for my little munchkin. The title page on the inside said, "Cinderella. Retold by Susanna Davidson." After reading that I thought, uh-oh I better prepare her for this.

Drea is regimented. She likes things to stay the same. When we read to her, she will know if we changed a word, skipped a page or in any way veered from how she knows its supposed to go. So I knew this book could be a challenge for her. I prepped her by explaining that "retold" may mean it's different from the way she knows the story to go.

She was very put off by this but still wanted to continue. The book started off normally until we realized that Cinderella's dad is alive throughout the whole book. And the stepsisters have different names, Griselda and Grimella. That's where she stopped.

I tried to be excited about it. "Honey, they have new names in this book."

She said, "Mommy, you need to say their names are Drisella and Anastasia."

I said, "We should read the book the way this author intended us to read it. Let's just give it a try and you can see if you like it."

There were many other differences as the story continued. This may have been one of the hardest things for her. But she made it through the book and soaked in the differences. The book challenged her normalcies and I liked that. It was interesting to watch her reaction. We'll whether she asks to read it again tomorrow. She probably will. It will probably become her favorite. She doesn't like change but then she embraces it after she makes it through it. Probably just like many of us adults, huh?

California Love

2010-08-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

From August 4 - 10 the Niessner family headed to California to visit my sister Laura and her family. Our trip didn't start out as planned, but we had a great time anyway. We were scheduled to fly out of Pittsburgh at 1:30 pm, however, Delta had other plans. After being delayed, for an hour, we landed in Atlanta at 4:00 pm with 20 minutes to reach our connecting flight. We ran though the airport like Noel Devine running down the football field. Giving it our best effort and running with a car seat and 4 year old, we missed our flight by 5 minutes. This started our long day in the Atlanta airport. We were on stand by for the 7:15 flight, which we didn't get on, then our 9:50pm flight was delayed until 10:30 pm. We did not land in California until midnight west coast time. We then had to drive 2 1/2 hrs to Laura's house. On the bright side we did manage to get our luggage and the rest of our trip was wonderful. Here are the pictures from our trip.

Here is the reason for our trip to CA, our new nephew Luke David

Getting ready to go though security

The girls' first plane ride

Mommy and Charlotte on the plane

On the other side of this sand dune is Mexico

Those dots are Leo and Drea

Luke and I swimming in the Colorado River in Yuma, AZ

Drea running in the river

These next two pictures are my favorites from our trip, I promise she only looks sweet.

This is at a park that was right around the corner from Laura and Leo's house, we must of rode by it 15 to 20 times and no one was ever playing at it. I guess that was because it was 112 degrees outside. We managed to go at 10am one morning it was only 95!

Drea enjoying the Pacific Ocean

Family Photo

Drea buried up to her neck, this was fun, until it was time to clean the sand off of her.

Pictured from left to right: Melissa (Leo daughter), Leo (Laura's boyfriend), Luke (in Leo's arms), Laura, Stacey, Drea, Andy, and Charlotte

Couple teaser pictures....

2010-08-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Since we haven't had much time to catch up and put pictures up from our vacation, I thought I would give you a couple quickly until we have a chance to put up more. This was our last day in California at Mission Beach in San Diego.

Trip to Cali

2010-08-04T04:59:00.000-07:00

We are taking a trip to visit Aunt Laura, Leo and baby Luke today! Flying clear across the country is pretty exciting. We will be back next Tuesday (pretty late) but watch for pictures of our trip when we get back. This is both of the girls first time on an airplane! Pretty exciting day!

facebook statuses

2010-07-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

Seems like a silly post but one of the things I love about blogging is having a record of things I will have for my kids one day to look back on. Recently I was thinking about how sometimes I post things on my facebook status that I should be blogging about. Facebook statuses will disappear but hopefully my blogs won't especially since I'm going to be making them into books for the kids. (You can do that on www.blurb.com, in case you wanted to know.)

So below are some of my recent facebook status posts that I want to add to my bank of memories here on our blog.

July 27 - I shouldn't have commented on Charlotte's slow teething process. The doctor said she has 6 teeth coming in at the same time. Four of them are her 1 yr molars. :(

July 26 - is it sad that I'm starting to ask my 4 year old fashion advice? Which shoe looks better...this one or this one?

It gets really difficult when she says "I like the one on the left." because she's really excited that she knows her right and left now. But the problem is she knows HER right and left, she can't turn it around. So I usually just know that she means her left when she says "I like the one on the left." :)

July 20 - bike ride tonight on the rail trail would have been great until I wrecked in the tunnel because there were NO LIGHTS!

July 19 - I just heard Andy singing a song to the girls to the tune of Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You". He, he, he!

July 13 - I used to think I was special because Charlotte says "momma" all the time. Not special anymore after noticing she calls Andy "momma", too.

July 12 - Stacey Niessner has been working in the garden for two straight hours. I feel like I have bugs crawling all over me.

July 7 - Yes, I set up the yogurts and drinks in my fridge like I'm on MTV Cribs. It makes me happy.

July 6 - Stacey Niessner was so glad to get home early enough last night to do laundry and unpack suitcases! I rested peacefully knowing it was all finished. I know, I'm such a dweeb.

July 2 - Charlotte stepped on a bee last night and he gladly gave her her first bee sting. ouch! it was such a sad little cry.

June 29 - I have to say that many days I have to just trust that God knows what he's doing and be satisfied.

June 23 - Charlotte gets two teeth every five months. Seriously, 2 at 5 months, 2 at 10 months and now she's getting her next 2 at 15 months. This could be a long process.

That's as far back as I'm going. I always love doing random lists. So I guess this is mine today.

Ice Cream in a Bag

2010-07-26T14:07:00.001-07:00

One of the things that I like to do every summer at my summer job is to make ice cream in a bag. It usually turns out, but for some reason this year it was really good. Not Dairy Creme Corner good, but good all the same. Anyway, we decided to make it with the girls. Here are some pictures from the event.

Drea with her strawberry ice cream

Charlotte with chocolate

I made vanilla and Stacey made strawberry, too. We all shared each favor and had a lot of fun making the ice cream here is the recipe to try it on your own. The key is ice and salt, make sure you use enough. You need:

1 gallon ziploc bag

1 quart ziploc bag

4 cups of ice

1/4 cup of salt

1 cup of whole milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of sugar

Procedure:

1. Pour the milk, vanilla extract, and sugar into the small ziploc bag. Squeeze as much air out as possible and seal the bag carefully.

2. Place the small ziploc bag down into the large bag. Cover with the ice and salt. Seal the large bag tightly.

3. Shake, toss, and flip the ice cream machine for 5- 10 minutes. Don't open the large bag to check ice cream because it may not seal properly afterwards. Don't worry if the bag leaks, it will.

4. Take small bag out of larger bag and enjoy!

**To make chocolate or strawberry omit the vanilla and DECREASE the sugar to 1 Tbsp. Add strawberry or chocolate syrup.

Jared's Wedding

2010-07-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jared recently got married in NJ and we went up for the ceremony. It was a beautiful outside wedding and reception. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing and spending time with family that we have not seen in sometime. Here are a few pics from the event. For you facebook people sorry you may have already seen these, for you others, enjoy!

The bride and groom

My girls

Drea and Charlotte must of walked though this 1,000 times

Drea played in this fountain more then she walked through the vines

Charlotte hitting the bottle

Drea flashing gang signs......4 yrs old, homey!

Drea hanging with Aunt Karen

This is a cute video of the girls dancing, sort of

These last two pictures were after the wedding at my Moms house, Drea loved the big sprinkler, however, she like the mist, but didn't want to get hit with the water. I don't blame her either.

More summer fun

2010-07-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

These pictures below are from a day when I took the girls to the park at a local school. I thought these were cute.

The girls fighting over the bottle of sunscreen.

Drea trying to put sunscreen on Charlotte.

Charlotte running away from Drea.

Here they finally sat down to both share the sunscreen. By the way, I know sunscreen is expensive and I don't usually let them play in it but we were having a no worries kind of day.

And now a smile from Charlotte.

On this day we went to Hovatter's Zoo with Aunt Jody and Barrett.
The kids really enjoyed it. They liked playing on the playground outside of the zoo. This always makes me wonder why we take them to do fun things sometimes when they would be happy just playing on the playground. Memories, I guess. Really Drea will remember it and remind us about the things she saw often.

Drea standing with the Capybara. Have you ever seen one of these in person? It really looks like a giant rat or hamster. It's crazy!

Charlotte liked the ducks.

This is wear we lost control. Jody and I couldn't get Drea and Barrett away from feeding the monkeys.

The prairie dogs were being shy and wouldn't come out but this cute little guy gave us a couple minutes of his time...by looking at us. :)

Seven/Seven

2010-07-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Drea turned 4 1/2 on Wednesday. I told her that she was 4 1/2 and she was completely thrilled! She said she couldn't wait to go to school and tell her new friend Merin (sp?). Then she asked if she was going to be five tomorrow. I went on to explain that four and a half means she's half way to five. All that means to her is she's half way to Christmas.

The next day when we were on our way to daycare she asked me if she was still four and a half because she still wanted to tell her friend.

Wednesday was also Kareen and Ben's 3rd anniversary! Congratulations Kareen and Ben - I'm sure they have been three wonderful years. Although I'm sure now that law school and grad school are complete the next three will be even better. Congratulations on buying your first home together, too. We love you guys!

*Will post some current summer pictures soon.

The difference between men and women

2010-07-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

There are always fun debates about the differences between men and women. I have a new topic in this category: The differences between working with men or working with women.

At my old job, there were 130-some employees, probably only 10 of which were men. Well, ok...maybe only 10 when I first started...when I left they were probably up past the 20s. So I mainly worked around a bunch of women. Now at my new job, I work with 30-some men and only about 3 women. Wow, what a difference! Not necessarily bad either way, but I now notice the things I like about each.

Good things about working with women:

They care about what I'm wearing.
They care about what jewerly I'm wearing.
Not only do they care about these things but they get excited about them and want to know if it's new or where it is from and what brand it is.
You celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, babies, and anything and everything you can find to throw to throw a party and give presents.
Along the same lines, we were always eating. Whether it was for one of the above events or just because we wanted to have a luncheon and eat ALL DAY.
They say "God bless you" when you sneeze.

Differences about working with men:

They don't care what fashionable, trendy, iconic item I have on. One guy in my office said to me the other day, "That is big necklace you are wearing." I wanted to say, "What? You mean you don't know what kind of jewelry this is? It's Viva Beads, goof ball! And if you were any of the girls I used to work with you would know that Tabetha gave it to me last christmas for our secret santa gift exchange. And they would remember that everytime they saw me wearing it." He didn't even notice that I had matching earrings in. :)
I can win them over with food. I baked brownies at the end of my first week and wrote a note beside them that said "Help yourself to a brownie. Thanks for making my first week at CSC so great." I was the hit of the office. They talked about it all day. And I got bonus points for the beautiful handwritten note that I put on some lovely paper.
No celebrating here. I'm pretty sure I'll never partake in an office luncheon. This may help me continue to eat healthy although there are some pretty awesome wives who bake goodies and send them in with their husbands.
They tell it like it is. If you are not doing your job right or if you are doing a great job, they will let you know. I love that! It is so much easier if someone just lets you know they aren't happy with your performance. I know, people always say that everyone says that, but no one really wants to know they aren't doing a good job. I do. I promise. I want a chance to correct and make up for what I'm doing wrong. I can't get that chance if I don't know I'm not doing a good job.
Some of them, and I do mean "some" not "all", are know-it-all, hotheads who really enjoy sounding like pompous jerks. :)
No gossiping. Men don't really gossip, they just work. Again, some do, but not the majority.
And a restroom all to yourself. There's rarely ever anyone in the restroom at the same time as me. It feels like my own suite with six stalls and 4 sinks - I could take a nap in there and no one would bother me. (I know, too much information.)

Have you ever noticed major differences about working with either? Share with a comment on our blog. (I'm sure Andy will have some good ones to share since he works with a majority female populous.)

Summer kickoff

2010-06-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Well, summer has officially started and if the calendar didn't say it our schedule would let me know. I'm not saying that to complain because I love the summer and not just because school is out, remember I work a summer job. Stacey and I love to get outside and do things as do most people. Here are some of our outings already this summer.

Playing at the Park

Enjoying a dip in the pool with Isak

Taking a break for food

More Pool Time

Walking on the rail trail

Its New to Us

2010-06-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

We have a new couch! (I get excited about these kind of things.)

Well, okay...it's not "new" per say but it feels new to us. My mom gave us a barely used couch that she had and I love it. It's very comfortable and I like that both sides recline.

This got me thinking...Andy and I have had a lot of "used" furniture since we have been married.

Our first couch came with the house - it was my grandfather's! Since we bought his house, we inherited all of his furniture, which we loved because some are true treasures. My china cabinet, for instance, sits in the corner of my dining room and displays my grandmothers china. Also, Drea uses their chest of drawers in her bedroom. So there are still some of their pieces left.

Then we had friends who were throwing out their couch. Andy and I thought this was a perfectly good couch and asked them if we could have it. They said it was 12 years old. We didn't care because it would be new to us. So we probably had that couch for 4 or 5 years. Then when my mom offered her couch, we jumped at the chance to get something "new."

I say all this because I realize our family has enjoyed and been blessed by many things given to us! We always feel like we have something "new." We also have a dining room table my mom gave to us when we moved into our house. This table has definitely seen better days so we will probably be moving on from it soon. But that's okay because when it's time to get rid of these things you don't feel bad because they were free or cheap.

*Hopefully I can find a nice table at a yard sale or the auction. I have a great computer desk I found for a steal at a yard sale. You just never know what you are going to find.

Spring Dance Recital

2010-06-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Not to long ago Drea and Stacey were in the Spring Dance Recital. Here are a few videos from the recital. Because we are an equal opportunity blog the first two videos are of my nephew, Barrett. These are great I hope you enjoy. Barrett is the little kid that looks like a linebacker wearing pink.

This video is Drea and her friends dancing

There is also a video of Stacey and Jody dancing at the recital, too. However, Stacey asked me not to put it on the blog. I wanted to put it up because it is really good and I am proud of her. So since Stacey doesn't want it up I will respect her wishes.......but if you would like to see it you can come over to the house and I'll show you. It is really good.

The past nine years

2010-06-14T03:37:00.000-07:00

This is the door I have walked in many mornings for the past nine years of my life.

This is the desk I have worked at for the past nine years; my own little world at the credit union (minus my pretty plants that I had already taken home - that made it look a little more "homey".)

These are some of the people I worked with everyday that made my days awesome! I didn't get pictures of everyone because lots of people were not available and I was way busy my last couple weeks!

Yep, that's my dad in the picture above. I have had the privilege of working with my dad for the past year. I didn't get to take a picture of Beth before I left, probably because she was busy making me do 500 things for her before I left. :) It has also been cool working with her for all these years. I also don't have pictures of Susan, Amy, Emily (was still on maternity leave), Alicia, Stacey H. or the rest of my buddies in the Upper Annex.

During my almost decade at the credit union, a lot has happened in my life. I started there when I was still in college. So shortly after beginning my tenure there I graduated college. Then I married my wonderful husband! And if putting up with me through those events weren't enough, then my coworkers had to go through 2 pregnancies and births of my little girls.

Even though everything wasn't always good and times weren't always great, I know that my time there has helped shape me into the person I am today. The credit union was a great place to work and I made lots of friends that will last a lifetime who feel like family now. During my exit interview, they asked me what my favorite thing about the credit union was. I said "the family atmosphere." They said that is what almost every person that leaves there says.

Yesterday...after leaving the comfort of my old office and old desk and old coworkers last week...I found a new home for a while. A new building to walk into everyday, a new cubicle to sit at and new coworkers...and boy, was it scary. But I am ready for the adventure.

Mid-year resolution

2010-06-13T12:31:00.000-07:00

The other day I was thinking...oh, I wish it was January because I would have a good New Year's resolution.

So why does it have to be January to make a resolution? I decided we are close to the middle of the year (can you believe that!) so I am going to make a mid-year resolution.

I am resolving to teach myself and my family how to better deal with our emotions. We have learned to scream and yell to express ourselves when we reach a point of frustration. I have recently viewed my children responding to a situation in the same way they have seen me respond. That really hit me hard. So I am turning a corner and want to see something better for my family. This may sound like the statement an abuser tends to make..."I promise I won't do it again." but that's not where I'm coming from.

I have prayed about this and experienced the differences. God showed me what sets me off specifically and how to deal with it and I think this will help tremendously. Drea and I had a tough day on Friday and then Saturday evening it all started again and I responded completely opposite and by the end of the evening we were hugging and saying nice things to each other without tears and regret for hurtful words. I know that God gave me that moment to teach me and I am ready to make a difference for my family.

I know some of you may be thinking "I can't believe you scream and yell at your children!" To you I must say, be thankful that you have been blessed in learning how to communicate well with your children. Some of us are still learning and I am thankful that God can walk with me and guide our family through this important lesson so that we may experience peace and love in our house and pass it on to people around us. Then our children might be able to show love to people around them. I thank God for giving us the opportunity to mold their hearts and minds in a way that will make them grow up to be incredible people!

In closing I ask that you pray for my family as God tries to train me and pass this on to my children. I know this will be a difficult task and I know I will probably mess up because I'm not perfect so your prayers will help. Resolutions usually don't last so I am going to make a plan with some short term goals rather than such a long "rest-of-the-year" goal. Thank you God for leading this change in our lives!

Look alikes - cast your vote

2010-06-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

People are constantly talking about who our children look like. If you are a parent I'm sure you get this all the time too or even if you are a child, people always talk about who resembles who. So Andy and I are playing a little game. We most often hear Drea looks like her Dad and Charlotte looks like me. Sometime we get the opposite but mostly since Charlotte has come along we hear the other.

So we are having a little fun. We took pictures with our "look alikes" and tried to decide what we think. Below are our pictures because we thought we would let our blog friends in on the game.

By the way, there is no winner and in fact, I should have posted a warning at the beginning of this blog that said "This is not important at all. Please do not hope to read an intensely insightful blog that will make you laugh, cry and tell your friends."

Andy and Alexandrea

Stacey and Charlotte

And now to really throw you off. Here are the opposites. Either way, you have to admit they are cute pictures.

Andy and Charlotte

Stacey and Alexandrea & Charlotte - because we couldn't get a picture of just me and Drea because Charlotte is usually attached to me.

If you need a book to read........

2010-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

I recommend this book by Donald Miller, it 's called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It is a very good and quick read and I always enjoy his work. I have read all of his books and they are always very entertaining and worth reading. The main idea of this book is creating a great story in your life, I would like to share an except from the book:

My friend Randy recently created a great memory with his daughter. When his daughter entered high school, she started to get more interested in girl things, and the two to them didn't talk as much as they used to. When she got asked to the prom, she was very excited. Her dad simply responded by saying congratulations. She quickly slid past him and jumped up and down in front of her mom. He didn't mean to be dismissive, but he didn't know what he was supposed to say. About a week later he was watching SportsCenter when his wife and daughter came home with the dress. They didn't say anything to him, knowing he wouldn't be interested, and went back to the daughter's bedroom so she could put it on. When she into the living room to show her dad, he turned down the volume and told her she looked nice, that it was a nice color, but when she curtsied and thanked him and walked away he knew he should have said more. He wanted to tell her that she was beautiful and that she was his princess and all the stuff fathers find so hard to say to their daughters. He turned the television back on and tired to pay attention to the scores, but all of this kept bugging him. Then he came up with an idea. He decided to create a memorable scene, if you will. He turned off the tv and went into his closet and put on his suit. Without letting his wife or daughter see him, he found the family camera and knocked on her door. When his daughter opened the door, she was still in the dress and her mother was sitting on the bed with stick-pins in her mouth. My friend said his wife almost swallowed the pins. "Honey", my friend said to his wife, "would you mind taking a picture of us?" "Daddy, you're wearing a suit," his daughter said, confused. "I want to look good in the picture too," he told her. The three of them ended up dancing in the living room until one in the morning, my and friend and his wife telling stories about their own prom dates and how they wished they would have known each other in high school. (pgs. 210-211)

I share this with you for a few reasons. One, I just think it is a cool story. Two, I like this story because I am a Dad of two girls and I know this day is coming. I hope I will always know the right thing to say and do. The reality is I probably won't, but this story touched my heart as most father/daughter stories do. Our two little ones are still a few years away until the prom and dresses and more importantly, dating, however, I know it will be he sooner and much quicker then I want. I could go on and on about them, and what it will be like and how I incredible it is to be a Dad, but I won't. I'll just end by saying this, take time for you loved ones, and if you get a chance pick up, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and create your own story.

my girls

2010-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love my girls. I love the way the are so alike and so different. When Charlotte was born, I thought I knew a lot about Drea already but I have started realizing that I'm learning more about her personality every day. Watching Charlotte's personality blossom has made Drea's more vivid, too.

The ways the girls are similar:

They are both NONSTOP. Seriously, they don't stop moving very often. (Even when they were both babies and nursing, they would look like they were doing gymnastics while they were eatting.) That's probably why I turned the TV on a little too much when Drea was little. I needed her to stop moving. And yes, she did become a zombie when it came on but they gave me a minute to get something done or breath. Now that I have two movers, I just turn the TV off more because I've come to the realization that they are going to just keep moving and I've just got to keep moving with them. Besides, Charlotte isn't interested in the TV much so it doesn't help. I've learned that I have to find activities to wear them out, keep them moving, because it's just more fun that way.

Drea and Charlotte both love being outside and playing. The both love to laugh and romp on the floor with Daddy. They are both super stubborn (one more than the other...I bet you can't guess which one.) And they both love reading. Books seem to be such a staple in our lives. I love that about them. They will stop anything they are doing to let mommy read them a book.

Alexandrea (Drea)

Drea is very much a character. She loves a good laugh, loves to make other people laugh and can giggle at anything. (She takes this after her father.) Aunt Jody always comments that she loves Drea's sense of humor. You can catch her giggling at the most random things and she can make Charlotte laugh in an instant. I pray that my girls will always be laughing together as they grow up.

In case you have never noticed, Drea has to have things a certain way. After doing something one way, it always has to be that way in the future. For instance, has she been to your house lately? Has she played with something specific, or eaten something specific at your house? She will forever relate that event with your house and think she should do that every time. Which brings me to another characteristic of hers, her memory. She never forgets anything. This has made her a great learner and I'm sure when she's in school she will appreciate this or at least her teachers will. One thing you will never be amiss with Drea is she knows what she wants and she will surely let you know. (My mom says she gets that from me. I guess I'm kind of bossy. Who knew? ha, ha, ha. )

Drea is a great big sister and a great family helper. Making breakfast for our family has become her way of serving us. She delights in being big enough to help mommy and daddy cook, take out the trash, and learn other household chores. This doesn't mean she's always interested in doing it. Sometimes playing is more fun than anything. But when Andy was putting our new Ikea furniture together she needed to be right in the middle of it. She would lug the heavy pieces of wood to her Daddy to be his little helper.

She loves playing with her friends, playing games, and dressing up! She loves doing crafts, playing outside, and going on any kind of adventure. She has lots of energy that she needs to expend every day. And loves thinking of fun ways to do that. She also loves to take pictures and they are usually really good. Drea is our picky eater. But usually if you can get her to try something, she will like it. She is stubborn enough though that she often won't try something to get dessert.

Beyond the normal bossy, sometimes whiny, and general 4 year old fun, Drea is a sweet, kind-hearted, good natured little girl who loves life, loves to talk, and loves to be around people who love her.

Below are a couple pictures you can enjoy of her.

Charlotte

Charlotte is a cuddler. When she gets up in the morning or from her nap she will usually just sit with her arms around my neck for a minute cuddling. She loves our dogs. She will give them hugs all the time. Throws her arms around them and gives them a big bear hug squeeze and you know what, they let her.

I was saying before that Charlotte loves to be outside like Drea. If one of the doors are open, she stands looking out the screen doors getting excited because she thinks someone is going to take her outside. Sometimes I take them out just because it's so cute. Her daycare teacher says she is one of their only kids who doesn't cry outside.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, Charlotte is the one I was saying is the stubborn one. She is more determined and stubborn than Drea ever was. To Andy and I this seems hard to believe. We are constantly dragging her out of the dogs' food and water bowls. And it doesn't matter what we do she just goes right back. Offer suggestions if you want, but we've probably tried it. I pray that we can teach her to use this determination for good because it can be a great strength.

She has a definite ornery streak. You can find her often hitting her sister over the head with a brush, a barbie or anything she can find. And Drea just laughs. Doesn't help, huh. (That's what I told you about Drea, will laugh at almost anything.) Most people just say that Charlotte is paying Drea back all of the turture she endured as a baby from Drea dragging her everywhere or being a little extra rough with her. So hopefully this is just a payback stage. You can also see this ornery streak in some of the pictures below. Daddy and Drea were working on putting the Ikea shelves together...Charlotte, she was playing in the squares they had finished. You can see rotten written all over that "cheese" face.

Charlotte loves playing. Her main tasks right now are putting things into containers or putting things together. You can really see her concentrating on these tasks and learning how things work. She likes to take things apart and put them back together.

She loves to "cheese" for the camera, enjoys pulling the toilet paper off the roll when we have our backs turned, loves the bathtub (most of the time), and she loves...I mean, LOVES to eat! That kid can put food down. Sometimes we can't figure out how she has enough room for it all. Then she gets up and you see her big belly sticking out! It's so funny.

Here are some pictures of Charlotte below for your enjoyment.

WV takes State Testing Serious

2010-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

These are actual directions teachers in WV have to follow during state testing this week. The state department has spend countless hours and money to cover any scenario.

Severe Weather Testing Protocol

1. Should a severe weather situation occur during testing, please remain calm. To display any kind of anxiety would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

2. Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

3. Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.

4. Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

5. Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer documents. Damaged answer sheets will not scan properly.

6. Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their test booklets and answer sheets into their shirts...being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly.

7. If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing...and of course make sure they leave their answer sheets and test booklets behind. You will have to account for those.

8. Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should never leave your hands.

9. When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests...unless of course they have been through standardized test training.

10. Please do not pray should a severe weather situation arise. Your priority is to actively monitor the test and a student might mark in the wrong section if you are praying instead of monitoring. I'm sure God will put war, world hunger, crime, and the presidential primaries on hold until after testing is over. He knows how important this test is.

Please do not tell anyone that I am sharing this information with you. This is very confidential, but I thought everyone should be aware the lengths we are taking for the education of your children.

Attention all readers:

2010-05-16T05:03:00.000-07:00

Do not trust this man. He is a thief. He will say he will watch your children, but in fact he will steal your coffee mug. I thought he was trustworthy, but he is just like all lawyers: A lair and a cheat.

If you see him please run the other way, if you talk to him it is already too late. Please be on the look out and guard your coffee mugs. Below is a photo of my missing mug. If you see the criminal, I mean lawyer, please call the police. If you have any other information regarding this matter please contact me.

Dear God..........

2010-04-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

I don't thank you enough. I know I'm quick to complain when things aren't going well. For example recently, I was complaining to my mom about money. I was telling her how we look forward to our tax refund and all the things we can do with it. However, it never fails, something always comes up and we have to use it for something else. Now you know I'm not completely negative, I am thankful we have it for things we need, but it's the other things we don't have the money for that gets frustrating. Here's my point, this year was different. You provided and you will continue to provide because you always do. Thanks to you we were able to use our refund to purchase plane tickets to visit my sister in California, get our season tickets for Mountaineer football, pay our personal and property taxes, give money to the church building fund, purchase bookshelves for Drea's room and the living room, and fix some minor repairs to my car. That is a whole lot of stuff. I know that it is just stuff and it isn't that important in the whole scheme of things. I also know you want us to have an abundant life and you want us to be happy. I just want to thank you over and over, not just for our stuff, but for everything you have given us, because you are good and I should tell you and others more. Amen

I finally did it!

2010-04-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

Joined the facebook that is or should I say the fb. Anyway, don't judge me for joining or waiting for so long to join. The bottom line is my beautiful wife asked me to join. She thought it might be another way for us to communicate in our busy lives. I know what your saying or thinking. If you get off the computer and talk to each other that might help. That is true, but with our busy schedules sometimes we don't get a chance to sit down and talk until 9 o'clock or later. So, if it is a night like that where we are running around maybe one of us will be able to check on the other. However, I have thought of some unwritten rules for joining as well.

1. If you are one of my students don't try to be my friend on the fb. (As a rule in class I actually tell them that I'm not their friend, but we can be friendly).
2. If you are one of my students' parents, I will not be your friend either. (there are some exceptions to this rule for example if I knew you before your child was/is my student).
3. Blogging comes first.
4. I will not get sucked into any of those crazy facebook games.
5. If I break any of those rules, I must deactivate my account.

I may come up with some other rules as I go, but for now that is the list. The other reason for joining facebook is this: When your spouse asks you to do something, whether it is joining facebook, helping out around the house, cooking, or whatever, it is a whole lot better to listen to what they are saying. In this case, Stacey was asking me to care about something she cared about and thought it might be fun for us. I needed to put my selfish reasons aside for joining and be considerate to what Stacey wanted. So maybe I'll see you on facebook.

Outside Fun

2010-04-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

With all the great weather we have been having in WV the Niessners have been taking advantage and getting outside and playing. Here are some pictures of all the outside fun we are having. We love Spring!

Drea flying her Barbie Kite

Mommy and Charlotte flying the princess kite

The girls really enjoyed flying the kites that they got for Easter, but I'm pretty sure Stacey and I had more fun. Stacey is quite the kite flyer. She had the princess kite all the way out, plus she walked it all the way back to the car without it hitting the ground. I never knew she was that skillful. I guess all the times she flew kites with her Dad have finally paid off. That was the reason Stacey wanted to get the girls kites because she remembered how much fun it was, so thanks for helping to create more memories Papaw.

Drea and Charlotte coloring with chalk. I think Charlotte's goal is to see how many pieces of chalk she can get in her hands. Can you guess how many she can carry?

Pretending to go to Walmart with Tyler

Bubbles and Egg hunt with Nunnie

Papaw and T enjoying an Easter nap

Checking out the tree with Grandma

Play time with the sand and water table. Yes, the sand and water table that needed five bags of sand.

This is a short video of Drea riding her bike for the first time, you will see in the video that she quits because the bike fell over, but she did get back on and try again. She rode it longer, too! I just didn't get that on video. The answer to the question about Charlotte and the chalk is 5.

Thanks Gwen!

2010-04-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a little slow on our Easter blog posts but there were so many exciting things we did around Easter that I wanted to be sure to include them.

My friend Gwen had a wonderful little Easter egg hunt and party for some of our friends and our children before Easter. It was an absolutely beautiful day with weather in the 80s which made a great egg hunt day aside from the melted chocolate in all of the eggs. But everyone knows chocolate tastes just as good melted and it doesn't take long to set back up for enjoyment later. Uuuummm, chocolate....good.

I think the party was more for us moms than for the kids because Gwen made this awesome spread for lunch and that means we all enjoyed the afternoon out in the sun watching our kids play and eat food that we didn't have to make. So thanks Gwen for all of your hard work and the wonderful food and hospitality that went into making a great egg hunt party. The picture above is all of us enjoying our lunch outside, except the picture was taken before Beth and baby Lily arrived. We were so glad to spend some time with the new mom and baby. What a fun day!

This picture makes me laugh. Not sure if Drea is swinging or doing a dance with the swing. I will bet on the latter. And Isak must be just chilling out watching her or he had just fallen down. Who knows?

Reese, Emma and Drea - who finally retreated inside to

enjoy dessert after roasting a little too long in the warm sun.

Character Breakfast

2010-04-12T04:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning my friend Diana invited us to a character breakfast at Trinity High School. Drea is always thrilled to spend time with Madison no matter what is involved but she knew when there was mention of princesses that it would definitely be a good day.

So we ate breakfast and then the parade began where all kinds of movie characters came out and walked along this balcony, down the steps and around the room. Drea loved all of the princesses, most of the disney characters but none of the "boy" characters. It probably didn't help that they come out to the music from their perspective movie which for some of them was intense. She buried her face in my arm so she didn't have to look at Batman, Spiderman, Jango Fett (from Star Wars), yes, and even......Shrek.

Yes, my daughter is scared of Shrek. Andy and I love these movies. She won't watch them. Shrek even came out with Fiona his princess. Didn't matter. She wouldn't even acknowledge their existence. Oh yeah, and she was afraid of the Cat in the Hat. To give her the benefit of the doubt, he was a little wacko running all around crazy being a very good cat in the hat. And the Incredible Hulk was supposed to be there but wasn't. Thank goodness. That might have become really bad. Hey, she did like Superman and Buzz Lightyear, though.

I digress. Drea, of course, loved the princesses. When Cinderella came out, you would have thought she was a teenager and it was Miley Cyrus or something. Star struck. After the parade is over, you are allowed to go take pictures with the characters. Below are some of the pictures with her favorite princesses. Great event! I'm so glad we went. Thanks for inviting us Diana!

Cinderella, Madison and Drea

Look, Drea can't even take her eyes off of Cinderella for the picture.

Drea and Tiana, from the Princess and the Frog
That is the first movie I took Drea to see in the movie theater that she wasn't begging to leave.

Snow White, Madison, Drea and Belle

Madison, Tinkerbell, and Drea

Year one rite of passages

2010-04-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Charlotte Eve Niessner - One year old

Yes, Andy already blogged about Charlotte's first birthday party. This blog post is about the changes that occur in our family when you turn one. It saddens Andy and I that are little baby has already had a year blow by and like every parent says "where did it go." So we choose to get excited about the rites of passage that Charlotte gets to incur when turning one. Even though some of these thing may seem silly to others, they are things we think are fun.

Here are a couple of things we celebrate:

1. Turning the car seat around!

Since our girls are always over 20 lbs. when they turn one, we get so excited to turn the car seat around. Even more so since Drea is in the seat beside her already facing forward like the rest of us. So we knew that Charlotte probably dreams about being the same direction as her sister. And they both love it!

2. First haircut

I know, if you are like the rest of the world who was heard anything about Charlotte's first haircut you are saying...what hair are you cutting?

Okay listen, you have to forget about that part. In my family you get your haircut on your first birthday...it's a rite of passage. It's a special day when your child gets to have their first haircut. And if you were the daughter of a beautician, you would know that when you give the hair a snip it makes it grow and get thicker. Or maybe that's a myth but it's a myth I buy into!

Anyway, the first few mintues of the event went okay and then it all starting going downhill. Luckily, when you don't have a lot of hair, your first haircut only lasts about 5 minutes.

3. Milk!

Yeah! Charlotte's other rite of passage...getting to drink regular whole milk. This one might be a little more closely related to what mommy gets out of this deal even though it makes me sad. No pictures of this one because I guess it's kind of boring but we were excited about giving Charlotte her first bottles of regular milk. And what was the best is that she liked it. (I've heard of children who hated it when they first switched.)

Random Pictures

2010-04-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Lorrie's blog, we borrowed her fun edible craft project for these first beautiful sunny days we have had. We made bird nests with pretzels, chocolate, peeps and jelly beans (for the eggs). Drea really enjoyed it especially the eating part of it. Thanks Lorrie! Oh yeah, and Charlotte greatly enjoyed her first Peeps.

Going to the Park

2010-03-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Stacey went away for a baby shower and a conference for work in Washington, D.C. So that left the girls and I at home for some Daddy time. We had fun, but we certainly, missed Mommy. One of the things we did was go to the park. We kind of had to go because Drea also went to a baby shower with her Nunnie, while they were leaving there was some swings and other playground equipment. Nunnie let her play for a while, but finally told her it was time to go. Drea said, "That's okay my Dad will take me later". Of course, I told her I would go, so we had to go. Here are some pictures of our visit.

Drea and Charlotte swinging on the swings

Charlotte's first time on the swings.....Sorry Stacey

Drea enjoying her visit

This is the big slide at the park that Drea is usually scared to go on. On this trip she finally went to the top. With Daddy and Charlotte's help she finally went down the slide, too!

One final note from our trip. We went to the park on Monday and by the time Stacey came back on Wednesday, Drea's voice was hoarse. I assume it was from our visit because it was a little cold and windy at the park. So I told Stacey that and Drea agreed. Now, every time since then, when she coughs or sneezes, she says it is from our trip to the park.