How lucky am I??

My brother Steven has the innate ability to keep me on an even keel. A few words and that is all it takes.

I still am waiting however to hear how his "Steak Throwdown" against Matthew went.......

I blog every day...........

but I don't always post them! I blogged 4 times yesterday and just couldn't post. Sometimes you think "How the heck do they do that?" Sometimes you think "What the heck were they thinking?" Sometimes you think "Screw you!!" Sometimes you think "Why the hell..." I've been thinking why the hell a lot recently.

Yesterday marked 5 months since Richard died. Too soon.........too young........too soon.......too young......

here is a shot of Richard surfing. He LOVED to surf!! He tried very hard to teach me on many different occasions -- I failed him miserably!!!! I have been working on a project of his photos -- it is probably the hardest thing I have ever done. I can literally only work on it for 5 minutes or less each time. It is overwhelming...I am overwhelmed....I miss him dearly!!!

It's Whitlee's Turn...........

So, O.K. I know I know I have had some fairly long posts about Brendan recently!!! Don't think I have forgotten Whit because I assure you I haven't!!!! She is also UBER busy!!!! Along with tagging along to her brothers hectic schedule which we all know is BASEBALL BASEBALL BASEBALL -- she also is still enjoying gymnastics or nastics as she refers to it every Wednesday morning. She loves Coach Tammy!!! We also are helping the 6th graders earn money to pay for their upcoming field trip to Pt. Defiance Zoo and Aquarium by selling popcorn every Friday at lunch time. She really loves interacting with all the kids as they go to and from lunch. She does however get hacked off when they refer to how "little" she is or say "look at the cute little girl". She is sure to let them know that she ISN'T a baby she is grown up cause she is 4!!!!

She is currently obsessed with "The Littlest Pet Shop". She was introduced to them by the sister of a ball player on Brendan's team. She(the sister) will remain nameless as I haven't asked her parents for permission to mention her in my blog. Anyhow, our house is Littlest Pet Shop central. It's all she wanted for her birthday and she has a BUNCH of them. She carries them everywhere -- At any given time I have 2 or 3 in my purse, she has a purse full of them or even a backpack full of the pets and their "gear" or "stuff". Pictured below is just 2 of them -- we were in the truck at a one of Jeff's softball games and it was POURING RAIN!! We were snacking on a cheese and fruit tray from Starbucks and she decided that her "friends" wanted a nibble also.

It's hard to believe that she is 4. She is such a little powerhouse. I can't imagine not loving her or wanting to spend as much time as possible with her.

So, without further ado................Here is Miss Whitlee Jane..................

Meet Sheila Squirrel and Shelia Mouse.

(yes there are a lot of Shelia's)

They are enjoying a square of dill havarti cheese

I love this picture of Whitlee --- well, except for her filthy hands -- she was digging in the dirt -- I know I know not a shocker!!!

Enjoying a slice of the "perfect" orange
She isn't understanding why a worm doesn't like it when you cram it into a hole you have dug for him covering him with a rock. She doesn't understand why doing this does not equal a happy worm friend.

At lunch with my cousin Sandra -- Whitlee and I are the only 2 people in the house who like Thai food. I think she loves going to Indochine because they have carved elephant statues. She calls it the Elephant place.

Whitlee at baseball practice digging a hole in the dirt. She has her monkey friend that Uncle Steve and Aunt Sharlene got for her when they took her to the zoo. At the zoo one of her most favorite things was..............the monkey that puked into its hand and then ate the puke. She tells EVERYONE she comes into contact with about this freaking monkey!!!!

This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of her. She was concentraiting so hard and paying such close attention to what she was doing. One of her favorite things to do at baseball practice is to blow fairy flowers --- yes, evidently they are called fairy flowers not dandelions

See all the Fairy Flowers........

Only once has she sucked in instead of blowing out. She didn't like it -- she said the fairy flowers tasted gross. She is very careful to blow blow blow.....

One of the other things she LOVES about baseball practice is the big grass hills....she gets to the top and then RUNS RUNS RUNS giggling the whole way -- sometimes she is laughing so hard she has trouble staying upright

Please notice that the girl is wearing her "party" shoes --- she LOVES those things!!!!!

So, that is Whitlee's update

Just an FYI -- I have tracking software on here that allow me to see how many people view my blog. I know where they come from and it also logs the IP addresses -- so, while I am glad that you visit and that you are interested you the evil witch that lives in Lancaster BE GONE before a house falls on you!!!!!

To the rest of you HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!!

My evening with Ali Edwards...................

If you didn't know I am a scrapbooker!!! While I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I'd like to pretend that I am SO creative truth be told I am not.........What you might say Stephanie isn't creative....OK maybe you aren't saying it but really if you know me at all I tend to do things artistic to my eye --- that is how I photograph that is how I scrapbook --- that is who I am. But, I digress.......................back to Ali............There is a magazine I like to refer to it on a monthly basis. And while of course not everything is "my taste" I find a lot of inspiration in the pages between it's covers. Here is a link to the mag if you are interested:

http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/

That is where I first encountered Ali. She writes articles, books, scrapbooks, photographs things with an amazing eye, thinks outside of the box - OK she kicks the crap out of the box. She creates the MOST beautiful things - yet, it is something even I can do. Her creativity is nothing short of AMAZING!!!! Her books are beautiful ---

My typical day starts like this: Roll out of bed, take Brendan to school, come home and grab something to drink, log on to check email, ready Ali's blog........http://aliedwards.typepad.com/

Imagine my glee when Sweet Joy announced that Ali was coming to Ben Franklin!! My Ben Franklin --- the same Ben Franklin that I teach at!!!! I FREAKED OUT!!!! Simmer down Stephanie simmer down!!! April was National Autism Awareness month -- Ali is the mother of the most handsome Simon and wife to Oregon State Representative Chris Edwards (D) http://www.chrisedwardsfororegon.com/ Simon is a most handsome boy who if you are a scrapbooker you have watched him grow. Simon can be found in most of Ali's layouts. Simon is so many wonderful things and he brings Ali so many great experiences and adventures. Simon is also Autistic. So National Autism Awareness month is something special to Ali and to all of us who work at Ben Franklin http://www.bfranklincrafts.com/HomeBL.html Anyhow the Scrap Divas came up with the coolest idea and Ali said YES!!!! She came to Ben Franklin and taught an acrylic album class Ben Franklin raised $1636.00 for the charity Autism Speaks!!!

Now, that I have gushed and gushed and gushed I truly do look like a stalker (I told you Ali:)) For me meeting Ali was like Jeff having dinner with Barrack Obama, like Richard Gere's first meeting with the Dahli Lama, like Whitlee meeting Dora The Explorer, like Brendan meeting the Jonas Brothers, like you meeting the one person in the whole world you'd love to meet!!!

Ali is warmhearted and the sweetest person you could ever meet. She is someone that you could just meet in a Starbucks and sit down for a cup of coffee with. She smiles with her entire face (which means it isn't fake). When she laughs she really laughs. She asks questions and she doesn't just do it to be polite - she really wants to know. I had a blast in the class - it was the best and I can't wait to do it again. Here are some shots of the night.......

Me and Ali Edwards!!!!

A preview of the book we were making.....

Ali decided I needed a shoulder rub....

and me being a BIG BABY!!! Like I said it was a very big deal!!!

Ali signing my poster AND my book!! (please note: Joy had 3 books a poster AND her tee-shirt...note to self...get one of those tee-shirts!!!!)

Ali's message to me!!!!

It was a great night!!!!

Thanks Ben Franklin!!!

and

THANKS ALI!!!!!

12 Freaking Days........Hey Steven I posted before you!!!

Yeah Yeah it's been a bit --- here is what is going on with us:)........

We had a birthday party ---- Brendan turned 12 on the 11th. He was suppose to have a swimming party but about 5 days before the event we got a call from the pool saying that they were closing the pool for maintence. Nice 5 days before the kids party and they are closing the pool.........so, Brendan opted for a pizza party -- he had a great time.

I can't believe that he is 12 --- I know I say it every year but it really doesn't seem like he should be 12!!! He is sure growing up!!!!!

With no shock or surprise this was Whitlee's reaction to "Hey, do you want some cake?"

Of course April was FILLED and I do mean filled with BASEBALL!!!!!!!!!!! Brendan loves playing! Every single moment!!!

Of course there has been trips to the ER --- ok NOT the ER but Urgent Care -- which happens to be between the baseball fields and our house. This is a shot of Brendan in Urgent Care waiting to be taken for X-Rays. He was yet again hit by the ball -- this time it was his hand it was pretty ugly. The good part is that Brendan was able to score and then when the team batted around and Brendan turn came up again he was so pissed that he smacked the crap out of the ball!!!!

At 3rd base waiting to come home.

At Children's Hospital getting to know the wildlife.

One of my VERY favorite photos of Brendan

It's been an uber busy month --- Brendan and I both came down with Strep-throat a couple of weeks ago -- It was so bad that Jeffie had to work from home for 4 days because I simply couldn't function. Brendan has also been dealing with migraines again -- We may and I use the word may with extreme caution.........have found a trigger for them. We have added an additional allergy med that works well with the one he already takes and so far (knock on wood) he hasn't had another one!!!

Brendan is currently dealing with strep again -- we aren't sure where he got it from but we think it was Jeffies work -- Thursday was "Take Your Child To Work Day" and this is the last year Brendan can go to his dad's office. None of his friends or teammates have strep. He is back at school today because....well, because he is no longer contagious and most importantly they are disecting frogs in science today. You would have thought the kid won the lottery.

We have about 3 weeks of baseball left. Win or lose it will be great! Brendan is having the best time. He has an amazing trio of coaches and the memories will last forever!!!!