Kay Yow

I have never been a real sports fan but I do like to keep up with NCSU and show my support. I have always thought that Kay Yow was a remarkable coach and have kept up with her battle with cancer for awhile. While I watched some of the footage and read some of the articles I could tell that NCSU has lost not only a coach but a legend. I saw where someone had done of memorial to her in the Free Expression Tunnel at NCSU- it was a portrait and her name YOW but the Y was a pink ribbon.

I remembered reading an article some time back about Kay Yow going through chemo, finding out that her father had died, and still trying to be there for her team. I finally found it and here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/sports/ncaabasketball/18yow.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=ncaabasketball

I thought this was a great article.

My new style

So I have been playing around with my page trying to make it look better. At first I used the Thanksgiving template and had turkeys on the side....Wild Turkey Farms..... but it cut half the turkeys off. Then I had bumblebees on the page because Lee keeps bees and I thought they were cute but I just wasn't satisfied. So now I have a pattern on there entitled 'Like a blue lady bug.' If you know me you know I HATE ladybug. Yeah, yeah, I know they are beneficial in their own way but when me and Lee were first married we rented a house in Woodleaf, NC, and there were always ladybugs around- EVERYWHERE. I was not cruel to them but I did eliminate them from my house! So 'Like a blue lady bug' might not be around for too long;-)

Response from Leapster

As I posted yesterday Rosty's Leapster was fried when he got sick and threw up all over it. I emailed Leapster told them the situation and asked if they had a reconditioning program. This was their response:

Response (Cheryl N.)
01/26/2009 03:31 PM
This LeapFrog® product is warranted only to the original purchaser for a period of three months from the original purchase date, under normal use and service, against defective workmanship and material. This warranty is void if the product has been damaged by accident or unreasonable use, immersion in water, neglect, abuse, battery leakage or improper installation, improper service, or other causes not arising out of defects in workmanship or materials of the product. However for the inconvenience we are offering you a 10% off any item from our website. Thanks

It was a nice gesture. I checked their on-line price & it was the same as Wal-Mart but I would still have to pay shipping cost and wait for it to get here so I guess getting it from Wal-Mart was the way to go.

How I spent my lunch hour

I did go and get my van cleaned today. Although there is still a faint smell of vomit. Will it ever go away? Although the vomit is masked by the NEW CAR SMELL air freshener I bought;-) I also tipped the guys good.

When they pulled my van out they locked the wheels up and I could not get the steering wheel to turn to unlock the tires. I had to get the guy to come back and help me. He was probably just ready to get the lady with the stinky van out of there.

Then I went to Walmart (which I hate) and bought Rosty a new Leapster. I hope he appreciates it! I know he will. He was so upset about his Leapster he could have cared less about my van! I'm just glad that he is feeling better.

I did email the Leap Pad Corporation and ask them about reconditioning the original Leapster. I'll be interested in seeing what they have to say.

My sick baby

It started out as a normal trip to the grocery store. We were just pulling in to the parking lot when Rosty said, "Mommy, I don't feel good."

I said, "Honey, I wish you would have told me that before we left the house. We are already here now. Do you think if I can hurry you'll be alright?"

So , we went in and got the things on our list. I knew he was feeling bad when I asked him what he wanted for being so good and he said nothing. But he ended up getting pop tarts and chocolate milk. Pop tarts is something we don't usually buy so this was definitely a treat.

We get back in the van and I asked Rosty if I could make one more stop. The boys had gotten the Wendy's coupon books for Halloween where they get free Jr. Frosty's. So we went through he drive-thru and got 4 Jr. Frosty's. These were going to be dessert that night.

We are turning onto our road when Rosty says "Mommy, I'm going to ......" and you can guess the rest of the story. We were in site of our house so I told him to hold on we were almost there. We get in the driveway and I put the van in park and run to his door. I fling the door open and get him out, get his booster seat out and try to salvage his Leapster. He is crying and upset. He tells me that the chocolate chip cookies that I made earlier in the day are why he is sick.

I get him inside and out of his clothes and into the shower. I call Lee and say "Please hurry home." My wonderful husband cleaned the van and the booster seat for me. We let the van air dry for awhile but thank goodness for Glade Odor Eliminator.

In the meantime, Rosty had been playing with his Leapster (that he got for his birthday, which he loves) when he got sick. I tried to clean it but it's fried and it smells. I have taken it apart and tired to clean it but I think there is no hope so I will be buying him another one this week.

I didn't drive my van on Sunday so this morning when I got in the van there was still a pretty strong smell. So I decided that I would take it to the car wash at lunch today. This requires taking out a lot of "stuff." My reusable bags I store under the seat that Rosty was sitting on we he got sick. Undoubtedly, the small space where the seat belt comes in was just big enough for some of the "puke" to seep through and form a puddle and since I was not in the van at all yesterday it has set for about 24 + hours. Plus, a few of my bags were soiled so I have to wash them too.

So, I apologize ahead of time to the guys at the car wash! I guess I will have to tip them really good today!!

Rosty is feeling much better now.

We got snow!

We had a light dusting of snow today!

Having grown up in eastern North Carolina getting snow was rare and when the first flake came down everything closed and all the stores were out of milk and bread. Go figure!

There was hardly any snow on the ground but Rosty was so excited! His first snow he wasn't even a year old yet and last year when it snowed there was also freezing rain so it was no fun.

You have to understand that Rosty is part Polar Bear. He usually sleeps with his pajama shirt unbuttoned and even though I tuck him in every night he always manages to kick all the covers off of himself. He likes to wear a hoodie instead of his nice heavy winter coat (a hand-me-down from cousin Noah) and always takes his socks off first thing when he comes home. So anyway, he is outside with sweatpants & a long-sleeved t-shirt on making snow angels, going down the sliding board and digging with his shovel. He loved the snow!

This morning after Charlie got up I was showing him the snow through the window. I said, "Charlie, do you want to go outside and play in the snow?"

His response was "I want to go hang-gliding, mommy!"

I think Diego goes hang-gliding over the Arctic in one episode.......

Christmas Pictures 2008- Ripley's Aquarium

Are you getting tired of pictures yet??

These are pictures from the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, TN. So to continue the story of Christmas Day.... After the kids got their Santa gifts, opened their stockings and we all ate breakfast we headed into Gatlinburg to the aquarium.

Me & Lee have been to the aquarium in Myrtle Beach, SC, but it was in 2003. From what I remember they were a lot alike. It was definitely fun going with the kids though. Charlie got a little scared when we were walking through and the sharks were swimming over his head.

The Menius Family

Fish

More fish

Charlie

Rosty

Domisty & Charlie

I have some more pics that were a lot better but I cannot figure out how to edit pictures and turn them around on this site.

Christmas Pictures 2008- The Little Family

So here are some pictures from Christmas with my parents. Although, there are no pictures of my parents but they were there I promise!

Last year my parents decided to go to the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area for Christmas since we were not going to be there. They had such a good time that is what we did this year also. My parent's rented a cabin about 15 miles out of Pigeon Forge up a mountain and down a dirt road. Last year they stayed in downtown Gatlinburg and were bale to walk everywhere but I suggested a cabin since we were going to be with the boys for 4 days and 3 nights. Everyone is glad we stayed in the cabin!

The cabin was awesome. It was decorated for Christmas (so moma didn't even have to use the decorations she brought). On the main floor there was a kitchen/dining area, a den and bedroom and bathroom- this is where me, Lee and Charlie stayed. Upstairs was a loft with a bedroom and bathroom- this is where my parents and Rosty stayed. The basement (which was always cold) was a game room complete with an air hockey table, Foosball and a pool table. There was also a washer, dryer, TV & couch down there. On the main floor on the balcony there was a hot tub! Me and Lee got to enjoy the hot tub one afternoon while my parents had the kids.

We arrived on Christmas Eve and got settled in the cabin and then opened presents. The boys got fun presents this time (not like the boring stuff they opened at home). They each got a DVD, a book and a t-shirt from me and Lee, a pair of gloves from Petey & Freckles and my parents also bought them presents. So here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve:

Lee & Charlie playing pool

Rosty

Rosty got Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium (cute movie)

Rosty

Rosty got a Diego t-shirt

Rosty trying on his gloves

Charlie got snowman Peeps from Grandma & Popa

Rosty got a search & find book

Charlie is very intent on something

It appears I have more pictures of Rosty but everytime I try to take a picture of Charlie he moves, puts something in front of his face or looks away.

Christmas Pictures 2008- Our Family

We decided to let the kids open some of the gifts from us on Tuesday (December 23rd) the day before we left for Tennessee.

It had been a really long day for me and Lee. We had driven all the way to Chapel Hill to make a delivery and then came back via Matkins to pick up a beef. Then we had more deliveries to make that evening.

It was about 9:30 pm that night and my parents still had not made it to our house and I knew we would be leaving early in the morning so we let the boys open some gifts. Now, the gifts that they opened were boring gifts...and I knew this! I took the good gifts with us! I'm sure it was a little disappointing to them that they got no toys but they were good sports.

Rosty & Charlie opening gifts

Lee's gifts

Rosty (& Charlie) got birdhouses to paint

Charlie got a Lightning McQueen & Elmo t-shirt

Charlie's first NCSU ornament

Rosty opening a gift

They each got a birdhouse to paint, some t-shirts, socks and a Christmas ornament. Like I said boring stuff...

They have painted their birdhouses though and had a great time.

Christmas Pics 2008- Menius Family

Like a lot of people we know me and Lee met in college. Which means we lived no where close to each other. So we divide our holidays between both of our families every year. This year we had Thanksgiving with Lee's family and Christmas with my family.

Lee's sister and her family live out-of-state so we only see them a few times a year. Since we would not be at Lee's parent's house for Christmas we decided to celebrate on Monday (December 22nd) and since we have a playroom full of toys (and 4 boys under the age of 5) we invited everyone to our house.

I cooked a pot of collards with a pork shank and a ham.

Here are a few pictures from that night:

Rosty with new bath toys

Rosty opening his Incredible Hulk blanket

Cousin Justin

Charlie intent on something

Charlie opening his Diego Megablocks

Charlie with his tractor set

Cousin Jake

Charlie opening a gift

We had a great time visiting with everyone.

I've got to get better at taking pictures though. All the pictures I have nobody is looking at me. Rosty is like his daddy he does not like getting his picture taken so that is why I never have pictures of Rosty (or Lee). I am going to start delegating picture taking to someone so I can watch what is going on without having to worry about where is my camera!

Recycling & Goodwill

Last year I really became a lot more environmentally conscience about a lot of things. I recycle everything that I can- I even go behind Lee, the kids, the guys at work and take things out of the trashcan to recycle. I bring my own bags when I go shopping. I have started making some of my own cleaning products- distilled white vinegar, baking soda, club soda- you'd be surprised the everyday things around your house you can use to clean.

Every little bit that we can do helps out our environmental and helps to leave a better world for our kids.

Another form of recycling is not to buy it new. I have started going to the Goodwill Store. I have found some really good deals (see list below).

Several of the things I have gotten I figured that an elderly person has passed away and their family boxed everything up and sent it to Goodwill. I regularly donate to Goodwill and the things I send are clothes the kids have outgrown, clothes that me & Lee do not wear anymore, household items that are no longer used, etc.......

Here are a few of the things that I have found:

A water bath canner (for quart size jars) $8

An enamelware baking sheet/tray $2

An orange juice reamer with glass catch basin $3
(Made in the USA- we estimated circa 1970's)

Baskets $1
(I put the marmalade & apple preserves that I canned in the baskets and gave them as Christmas gifts)

Coffee Dispenser $1
(I was super excited about this! It will be great to take to the Farmer's Market)

Men's Carhartt duck overalls $5
(These are for me- they are men's size small so they are a little big and a little long but I am going to use them as coveralls at the farm. They are about $60 new)

I also go to a children's consignment store on a regular basis. For those of you with boys, you know that once they get a certain age the clothes are worn out, have holes and stains so I do not buy a lot of clothes there but I have gotten Charlie 2 pair of tennis shoes there recently. His Cars tennis shoes (with Lightening McQueen) were $3 and I got another pair of Teva's last week for $2.75. I also got the boys 3 books and a Diego DVD for $6.

I do buy new items but it's nice to get good deals on gently used items too!