Green Bay Packers Rule!

Here is some info on my paternal grandfather, Roger Grove. He played for the Green Bay Packers before it was popular to be a professional sports player. My husband came across an article that mentions him gifting a woman (who managed the hotel where he stayed during the season) a football signed by all the players and coaches. That football was passed down to her son, who has since donated it to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Cool!!

Here's the link of the article:

http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-1/Green-Bay-Packers-Hall-Of-Fame-Inc-Announces-Donation-Of-Rare-1934-35-Autographed-Game-Ball/9e8e83de-5aa4-11df-a3b6-528cc843f916

Crazy Hair Day

This is one of our favorite days of the year! CRAZY HAIR DAY! The kids were up bright & early & we had a blast styling hair. Tomorrow is picture day, & somehow I can't imagine that the excitement that was in the air this morning will also be present tomorrow.....

This is Scottie's skunk-inspired do!

Alfalfa never looked this good!

Yes, this is real. This girl has enough hair for 3 people. The height was achieved with the help of a water bottle. Ingenius, I know....(or maybe a google search helped!)

First Day of School 2010

Scottie is now in 6th grade

Tyler is in 4th grade

Joelle is in 1st grade

This morning was crazy! The night before was Meet the teacher night & I had stayed up late filling out the myriads of paperwork involved with school, trying not to get overwhelmed by the amount of information my tired brain was struggling to absorb. People who know me, know that I don't do well when I'm sleep deprived. So anyway, in the morning I was rushing around trying to get ready for work & gently rushing the kids, packing lunches while simultaneously trying to keep an upbeat mental attitude so as not to stress the kids out....I kissed them goodbye, watched them scooter off, fought the urge to stay and watch some more 'cause I was already late for work. I cried on my 15 minute commute, pulled myself together, & walked into the office only to realize that I was scheduled an hour later than usual. My awesome coworker had thought to give me more time at home that day! That made me cry more- the thoughtfulness of the gesture as much as the time that I missed with my kids. I could have walked them to school. Sigh.

Life

I haven't posted since November of 2009...7 months ago!! WHAT?!?! It certainly doesn't feel like it's been that long. I haven't even posted Christmas pictures, or Valentines Day...St. Patrick's Day, Joelle's Birthday, Moving into a new house, My 14th anniversary, or the last day of school.
WOW! I have a lot of catching up to do! The good news- I finally have a working computer. The old one has been on the fritz for months, so the new one should be a fabulous addition to our family.
More to come!

Blogging Layouts

I HATE WHEN I WORK SUPER HARD ON A LAYOUT...PREVIEW IT A MILLION TIMES...AND IT STILL LOOKS STUPID WHEN I POST. TAKE, FOR INSTANCE THE POST BELOW:

I WORKED & WORKED ON IT...AND STILL...NOT CENTERED- OR NOT JUSTIFIED TO THE RIGHT SIDE...OR WHATEVER! GRRRRRRRR.

NOTICE I WROTE ALL IN CAPS TO RELAY MY FRUSTRATION!

Tyler's Baptism Weekend

FYI: My sisters & mom have normal sized heads covered by massive amounts of hair, which on the positive front makes us all appear taller than we are; however, we all look like giant-heads when put next to my dad who is #1 a pinhead and #2 hair-follically challenged...

Greg & Tyler ready to take "The Plunge"

The week after school started, I began working full time at an optometrists office. A few days after starting work, my family started arriving from out of town to celebrate Tyler's baptism. For me it was bittersweet for the following reasons:

1. Excitement & trepidation over learning something totally foreign at work.

G'Pa Grove & Tyler

2. Stress over the fact that my house was a disaster.

3. Not enough time to lay in bed chatting with my sisters while listening to

the children play & fight.

4. Elation over seeing my little sister, Gwen, pregnant with her first child.

Belles of the Ball:

Some of the Poulsen Cousins

5. Disbelief that my second child is old enough to be accountable for his actions! Yikes!

Thanks to my wonderful family for putting up with my mood swings brought on by stress and sleep deprivation! I love you guys!

Some of the Grove Cousins...Need I say more?

Creating a Monster

These angelic looking women, er, um girls... are two peas in a pod. My sister, Joleen, has always loved girliness...make-up, shoes, glitter, and all that jazz. Similarly, Joelle is fashion conscious...and likes all things pink. Joleen is creating a monster in Joelle. Every time they see each other, Joelle asks Joleen about when she is going to give her a makeover. While it's cute now- I can see the writing on the wall (in lipstick.) Joleen might have to be given temporary custody of Joelle during the crazy teenage years. It's only fair, after all- since she has created the problem!