oh what a night

the evening of our 5th anniversary was great!

my in laws and parents each babysat 2 kids overnight.

we started the night off at little tree. a sushi bar\restaurant in royal oak.

shared a plate of gang gui, spider roll, tuna roll, spicy california hand roll, and another roll that i just cant remember the name of. soooooo yummy.

then we went to to a tattoo\piercing shop in clawson.

we went because mr. blanchard lost a ball in one of his earrings.

i ended up getting my nose pierced.

yeah, im super hardcore now.

tried to go bowling but all lanes were full of leagues.

so we went out for beers at 2 bars. o'tooles and then the post.

went home for a little romance ;)

i didnt wake up the next morning until after 11am. wow.

that may have been the best part of the whole experience.

love you bubski.

love

happy 5th anniversary mr. blanchard.

cant wait for our date tonight

(wink, wink)

i love you oh so very much!!!!!!!

christmas eve '09

chocolate is all eaten from the advent calenders, turkey is smoked, ferret is bought, im ready for the party tonight, and santa later on tonight.

christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat....

smoke a turkey all day long..................check.
deliver gifts to our adopted christmas family............check.
talk to santa on the phone with the 3 little ones.......check.
shower...............not so check.
make an awesome dinner...................check.
clean the crap outta the house................check.
bathe all 4 munchkins.............check.
vacuum the pine needles 500 times.............check.
watch anderson for a few hours...............check.
successfully put all kids to bed (including mary)......check.
get ready to wrap the last of the christmas presents at 10pm at night, i use up the last of the wrapping paper wrapping 2 gifts, still have 8 to go. scotts at work. faaaarrrrrt! i really need more hours in the day. merry christmas to all.

11:30 at night

and i just cant seem to sleep.

i guess im a little anxious about the funeral in the morning.

sooo 2 funny things that happened today that ide like to share with you...

#1. today while singing christmas carols (which i sing all year long, not just the week before christmas) my sweet 2yr old mary exclaims "no mommy, youre silly, im not mary christmas im mayyy lizabefff baaaanchard" man-o-man is she cute. that may be the single reason i dont lose it when she purposely pees in her pullup tonight, for the 3rd reason to get out of her room at bedtime.

#2. at my aunt pats christmas party tonight, jax refused to take off his not 1 but 2 necklaces. at home i really dont care about him playing with or wearing gender bias stuff. but today at the party ill admit i was a little embarrassed. oh well.

good night

baking...

baking 2 french baguettes and a bowl full of artichoke dip for a christmas party tonight. once the baguettes are cooled completely ill slice them thinly and diagonally. so fun to make, especially with my little helper in the kitchen. tomorrow morning we have a funeral :( my uncle bob lost his short battle with als (Lou Gehrig disease). last night we made a boatload of drop shortbread cookies. i think we need to make more, the kids gobbled up so many. on sunday sara is coming over so we can wrap presents for a family that we adopted for the holiday. so here we go, were off to a busy weekend. i hope yours is nice!

just incase

you forgot how cute we are, heres a reminder. ok fine i need to updaye my camera with more shots. adn youll need to bare with me while im figuring out this whole photoshop thing...

went shopping this morning with my dad. christmas shopping for the kiddos. theyre about all done now. just 1 more gift. a flyboat form the wonderpets tv show (ya know, winnie, tuck and ming-ming?) thats the only thing that sweet mary wants. well good luck for scott. hes the one whose gotta go out and find it amongst all the crazy shoppers this time of year...

bliggity blah!

nothin new to report since i went hunting yesterday. froze my nose off in the deer blind, had a few deer in the scope, didnt take a shot... i need to work on controlling my breathing and slowing down my heart rate. better luck next time i guess. i still had lotsa fun chattin it up with amanda. thanks again!

not tomorrow but next friday...

im going hunting. this is my first time really hunting out in the woods holding a gun. ive been out in the woods with the guys while they were actively hunting. but this will my first real time. im super exited to day the least.

hit and run

so today after picking leah up from school i got rear ended. it really was barely a bump. i was in the turn around lane on woodward getting ready to cross all lanes of traffic heading to woodward heights. my car was completely still when i heard a honk behind me then felt a bump. i was on the phone with my mom and exclaimed "holy crap! i just got rear ended." i ended the call. looking in my rear-view i saw a smallish gold car maybe a foreign model or kinda like a focus. looked new. and a car behind him. waiting until traffic was clear on woodward (a blue truck to pass by in the far right lane.) then i pulled behind, proceeding to pull into the nearest parking space right off woodward thinking the gold car would pull behind me. nope he kept on driving. he actually turned right onto woodward heights. the same route i drive home. so as i caught up to him on woodward heights i flashed my lights at him and put on my right blinker. by now i was irritated that he didnt pull over behind me on woodward. well he did pull over this time. leah wroth his licence plate # on her homework assignment. i got out of the car, walked to the back looking for any bumps on my yukon. didnt see anything. so i walked up to his car. this is when i turned into a cop. i didnt look much like one though. my hair messy in a pony, blue sweat pants and a brown zip up hoodie. (hey at least i brushed my teeth. lol) approaching the gold car i immediately looked for his hands. ya never know... i was thinking of a super sweet kung-fu move if he was a crazy gang banger with a gun. not so much. he was a grey, balding man in his 50's, with a sweater vest. so the first thing i say is "you know you hit me back there, are you okay?" and if course he responds with "no i didnt." needless to say that really pissed me off. "yeah you bumped into me in the turn around lane on woodward." he then said "i wasent even in the turn around lane." "yes you were." i rebuttaled "ive had my eye on you since you hit me." he then said that he heard the car behind him honk but he never hit me. hmm, thats weird if he wasent behind me in the turn around lane then how did he hear the car behind him toot his horn. so i pulled out my ticket book and gave him a ticket for being a liar. ok fine i didnt. but i really would have if i had a ticket book. and i still should have given him a good dose of kung-fu, eryn style. moral of the story, please dont lie to me mr. gold car. just ask if i am ok.

bald jerk!

dollhouse findings on etsy

c.j. loves playing with her fisher price dollhouse that ama and papa got her last year for christmas. it included a family of 4, table, 2 chairs, 2 highchairs and 2 potted plants. for christmas we will be getting her more furniture to match. lately she has been using her brothers building blocks as furniture, and littlest pet shop animals as family pets. i would just love to get her these.

#1 mini 1\12 shabby pink baking table

#2 mini serving tray with sweet treats

#3 baby grand piano and bench

#4 armoire

#5 cutest ever tiny yo-yo quilt

p.s. #5 is really #1, #2 is #4 and so on. i copied them backwards. oops.

a new pet for x-mas?

leah has been begging for her own pet.
she really wants a hamster for christmas.
growing up i had hamsters, as did scott.
they were so much fun for me ,
i had all the tubes and balls and exercise wheels,
all the gear.
im just afraid the little girls will be too rough
and get bitten,
or accidentally let it out of the cage
to be prey for jager.

scott and i have been thinking maybe a ferret.
i really dont know much about them
besides being stinky,
and hiding treasures around the house.
i have learned that they can be litter box trained,
and roam the house freely and are very playful.

we have a cage in the garage that the guinea pigs (long story) once lived in.
we have also found some pretty enticing deals on craigslist.
so we wouldnt really need to spend a lot on stuff.

please let me know what you think.
do you have a ferret?
know someone who does?
how are they with kids and a dog?
does the sex of the ferret determine its temperament?
should we buy a baby as apposed to an adult?
any advise would be much appreciated.
thank you.

p. i. to the E!

made my first pumpkin pie from scratch.

cant wait for it to cool so i can dig my chompers in.

i wont be making pumpkin pie for thanksgiving, ill be making an apple pie or 2.

so i figured id make 1 today.

alphabet art

a few christmas gift ideas i have up my sleeve. my step-dads side of the family, i really dont see all that often. i have never even seen my step brother, step sister, or step cousins childrens bedrooms. nor do i really know enough about their personalities to pick out the perfect toys. these prints are absolutely adorable and im sure will go with their bedroom decor. i have picked out letters from lindsays alphabet series. g for gabby, c for camerin, and the t's for tommy and trina. lindsay is running an awesome sale on her prints until today! so get a jump on it. @ www.lindsayart.etsy.com

its about time...

i havent blogged in over 2 months. whew, so much has happened. i guess ive been a bit too preoccupied with- well im not really sure. but from now on i will try to update with all of my everyday silly stuff that goes on around here.

sooo, on with our familys most recent news. scott shot his first deer! as a promise to my dad scott vowed to hunt with him this fall and bring leah along. my dad cant shoot a rifle this year due to having his chest cracked open and all. so they drove up north saturday, ready for opening season to open at dawn the following morning. so they geared up in their camo, guns, and orange hats, climbed up the tree blind on the land that my dad and his friend own and hunt on.

9am scott sees a doe, gets a clear shot straight to the chest and goes for it. BOOM! as it was told to me, the deer sprung up on her hind legs, gave out a ghastly grunting moan, and flopped to the ground. leah was ecstatic. coolest thing she had ever seen. i was sure she was going to be super freaked. nope not her, she wanted to see the brains. she cant wait to hunt herself when shes 12.

the next morning, my dads friend greg shot a deer. apparently he shot her through the back thigh and out the front shoulder. needless to say she didnt flop on the ground like scotts doe. she ran off leaving the slightest trail of blood. leah the bloodhound tracked the trail while everyone walked behind her. when my dad told me this, i kinda thought that really they all tracked together, but no. as scott even said later, leah was absolutely amazing and tracked the deer up and down ridges until she found the kill. she rocks.

so here we are with a freezer full of venison. i cant wait to cook some up!

congrats leah and scott, im so glad you had a fun and safe weekend.

so heres a video of the kid dragging the doe out of the woods.

todays picks

i havent mentioned much lately about my garden. well here is a pic of todays picks.

yellow zucchini, carrots, concord grapes, eggplant, chili peppers, green zucchini and not yet ripe tomatoes.

anyone ever seen carrots like this? pictured is only 3 carrots. the roots are shooting off all over the place. crazy.

baking and such

yummy appetisers the kids and i made today.

french baguettes that i baked this morning, lathered with homemade pesto (basil from the garden), then sliced fresh tomatoes (from my and a friends garden), then topped with mozzarella. holy yummyness!!!
homemade cinnamon pecan swirls, inspired by candle photo and scent.

dude

im absolutely spent!
what a weekend.

bypass

this morning after my dads tests we were informed that he needs tripple bypass surgery. the surgery is set for 7:30 am, so scott and will be there at about 6. i am a complete wreck. i dont think ive cried this much...ever.

surgery

my dad is going under the knife tomorrow. apparently the bottom of his heart isnt working quite right. doctors at troy beaumont will be giving him a heart cathetarization, which (depending on wat they find) may lead to more surgeries. making me a bit uneasy.

he and his mom, granny are coming for dinner tonight. i cant wait.

please send your prayers

crunch!

so today...

i loaded the car with kids, put the car in reverse, when a huge hornet came in the passenger side window straight at me. so i opened my door; as it was coming straight for me i got out. (mind you i\the car was still in my driveway next to my house\front porch). so when i opened my door and got out, the car rolled backwards toward the street ... Read Morecatching my door in the rungs of my front porch, tearing and crunching the door backwards. doing so also caught the faucet for the hose ripping that off. so water is spraying out like crazy, and my yukon is rolling toward the street. i lose my flip flops and run back to my car full of kids, swing my leg into the rolling car and slam on the brake.

so my door is broken.

not totally, but enough to pay a $500 deductible, and not opening more than 8 inches or so.

bummer.

*no kids or hornets were hurt in this ordeal*

ye ole blog

has been very neglected these recent weeks.

we are super busy with summer and im really not taking as many pics as i would like.

maybe in a few days ill post something supa-dupa fly!

happy birthday charleigh!

charleigh jane is 4 today. were about to get ready for the zoo. its been a while since weve been. im sure it will be great.

4th anual pig roast

was a hit. good food, drinks, friends and family.

zucchini

2 princesses with a ginormous zucchini.

bread that the girls and i made last night with the zucchini.

by the way...

that last post was my 100th! woohoo. so heres a crazy happy chuck face for ya.

zukes from my yard. weve been eating tons every day lately.

next week

getting the house and yard ready for our 4th anual pig roast. im super exited!
cant wait to see people i havent seen in a while.
and get my drink on.

boston

were back and all survived.

i can say that im really glad to be home, i was really starting to miss my yard, bed, diet, and routine. we did all kinds of really awesome stuff. swam in the ocean, saw the uss constitution, saw the 1 if by land and 2 if by sea church, walked the freedom trail, ate lots of great food, went on the subway, went on boat rides, went to the aquarium, played in fountains, went to fenway park, saw the mayflower and plymouth rock, drank a cold sam adams across the street from a cold sam adams, saw the cheers bar, played on the make way for ducks, all while pushing strollers for miles. the reason for the trip was scotts brothers wedding. absolutely beautiful. the church was huge, old and HOT. the reception was at the omni parker house on the top floor ballroom. quite exquisite! the drive home was over 13 hours. and yes it was with all 4 kids in the truck.

we really had a great time thanks to barb, jack, chris and lindsay. thank you all!

and welcome to the fam lindsay!!!!!...although youve been around about three times longer than me.

were back

from the cabins...just long enough to
unpack,
do laundry,
and pack for boston.
this summer is just flying by
and i love every minute of it!

closeups

lilly pad flower
yellow flower behind pond

begining to bloom

colious in pot

purple clover in shade

my big pot

baby tomato

romaine lettuces

yellow zuchini

tyme and mint

recently i took a few pics of the backyard. here are some closer looks.

im babysitting...

...kinda. here i am at kitten and andys house, while they are asleep. anderson too. im here to keep him company while mommy and daddy catch some zzzzz's. this baby is perfect. they say hes up all night...its 1:19am and hes been snoozy for a few hours now. ya, were bonding. im sure hell wake up as soon as i leave.

nite nite

feeding frenzy

today in the pond.

notice no nemo? i think he got eaten by a cat or raccoon.

charleighs commentary.

wtf

why didnt anyone tell me new kids were in town?

not even my husband who knew all along.

jerk.

whatever.

i love joe.

its a boy!!!!

i am proud to announce the birth of anderson charles kirsch! a healthy 6lb 7oz, 20.5in, born at 1:41pm yesterday.

i got the phone call at 7am yesterday that kittens water had broke at 4am and she and andy were admitted to the hospital 2cms dilated. she asked if i could be there with her at 10am. so i got on the phone and facebook to set up babysitters for the day. scott had to work in the afternoon, so aunt linda came over at 1pm, lindsay came at 4pm, bri and kevin came at 4:15pm, and my mom at 5pm. bases covered.

on my way to henry ford hospital in bloomfield hills. had to drive through 2 roundabouts...that was interresting... the hospital was absolutely beautiful brand new and very modern. kittens labor\delivery\recovery room was huge and very nice.

so as soon as i arrived to her room her nurse said she was about to get her epidural and we had to leave. she was 4cm and fully effaced. so i hung out in the big lobby with christens mom and andys mom and friend of the family. about 30 mins later, andy came to tell us christen was much more comfortable. so we came to her room for another visit when the same nurse explained that kitten was going to try and nap for about an hour or so. back to the lobby to read and snack and chat with the ladies. not even an hour later a very pale soon to be daddy came to announce that christen was 10cms. we all laughed and said "yeah right". well, she was. back to her room where the nurse asked kitten if she was ready to push. "soon" she said.

about 20mins later she said she was ready to push. i helped pull her head to her chest, andy held onto one of her legs, and a nurse held another leg. lots of counting and cheering her on, while the doc chanted harder, harder, right there, push! after a few good pushes the doc was talking about how much hair the baby had. in between kittens pushes, i wiped her forehead and chest with an icy washcloth (my favorite when i was in labor, thanks sara!). a few minutes later i asked christen andy if we could trade spots so i could see all that hair. we did. next push was the apesiotomy (sp?). i thought andy was going to faint, lol. next push the head was out, and out slid baby!

i burst into tears. so did andy. it was beautiful. everything.

thank you so much andy and kitten for letting me be apart of your miracle!

today is the day

i am so exited! my friend is in labor! my first good friend is finally having her first baby. yeah!!!
boy or girl?

pics for rachel lynn

pics of my backyard. feel free to give the pic a double click for a zoom in.

jax with hawk in pool.

mmmm mexican dinner 2 nights ago with apple pie.

the blanchards at greenfield village

milk moustache.