Snippet From Memorial Day Parade

Chicago Memorial Day Parade ... Go to time stamp 3:49 to see Navy Band Great Lakes... Good closeups of my husband (the tuba player with a blue mouthpiece!).

Exercise!

If I wasn't losing weight or getting more fit, at least me exercising is providing If I wasn't losing weight or getting more fit, at least me exercising is providing entertainment value through my children!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone out there in blogland!!

I have so much to be thankful for- my family (immediate and extended), friends (online and "real life" both of which help hold me together!!), my kitties, my husband's job, our amazing house we got in August, the fact that we are able to afford to send our daughter to preschool this year, my children growing up and becoming friends and playing nice together (sometimes), we can afford food, nice phones, Starbucks... (no , seriously).

Of course not everything is perfect, my sister moved farther away. But at least she is still a short plane-ride away should we be able to afford to visit. My job isn't exactly secure, but I know there will be other opportunities out there when the kids are in school full time and I can dedicate more time to working. My mom had back surgery in February, but I am so thankful she has been recovering well and will finally be able to visit us tomorrow. She has not been to see us since September 2009. I am thankful my aunt was able to move closer to my mom and not be so lonely anymore.

I wish we had more "extra" money so that we can help others. I would love to be able to buy a toy (or many) for every Toys For Tots I see. I would love to be able to volunteer or give more than we do. One day, perhaps, when we are a bit more secure and not living paycheck to paycheck I can do that. For now, we do our best to support those we know and those we don't. I am so thankful for our friends here in Great Lakes and being able to help each other out when we need it. I hope we are able to find such great friends each time we move.

Anyway.. I'm rambling on and I have baking to do!

GOBBLE GOBBLE!

Navy Band Great Lakes Brass Ambassadors

Husband's quintet did a series of kid concerts in schools a few months back. Here is a short clip of them playing in the North Chicago schools. Sadly my camera died soon after this was taken so this is all I have.

First California Beach Experience

Here is a video of the kids' first California beach experience. Ben wasn't quite sure what to think, he mostly wanted to play in the sand. I don't blame him, that water was COLD!! There were lots of little crabs scurrying along the sand. I picked up some that were in shells but the kids weren't nearly as interested as I was. I apparently didn't do well with video taping the kids because this is a compilation of all the videos I took while at the beach. I had many photos of my daughter with her grandparents, but no videos. Oops!

Look What I Can Do!

Quite the clever little boy, if I do say so myself!!

Baby Mamas (Put a Sling On 'Em)

If you appreciate babywearing, you will like this video!

Baby On The Move!

Mr. Ben has finally figured out crawling. Here he is doing one of his favorite things, chasing after the vacuum.

Feline Fridays - Awesome Cat Video

My cats love to drink water out of the tub.... but nothing like this! I'm not sure how to efficiently link youtube videos to my blog yet, so if you know how, please tell me!!

Toddler's First Computer Game

I'm so NOT a computer game/video game person. I rarely win at Mario Kart. I cannot understand the controls enough to play any video game except tetris. Once I bought a Spongebob CD-Rom thinking I would be able to play the game since it was geared towards children... Dave had to win it for me because I got stuck near the beginning. Gosh darn if my children will have my same handicap!

During a seemingly innocent trip to Office Depot for a desk calendar Wednesday, we found a game geared toward our precious toddler. As if it were engrained in her from her dad's genes, she was immediately drawn to it and insisted on having it, she was even willing to put the HUGE Dora coloring pad back on the shelf so long as she could get this game.

This is our daughter playing her new Sesame Street "Learn, Play, & Grow" game. I think she *might* like it...