Had to go to Troy, MI today for a meeting. About 1/2 before I reached the office in Troy, I got pulled over for speeding. What an idiot I am!! He clocked me going 79 in a 65!! Lucky for me, he only wrote the ticket out for going 5 over. Needless to say, on the way back I was going 60 the whole way!! That's a quick $85's gone. Sorry Tim!!!!!!!!

Mom & Dad went out to dinner last night so Shawn didn't do his usual Friday night sleep over so he is headed over there today to spend the night. I get my hair cut at one & then Tim & I may head to some mall for the afternoon. Going to friends house for a super bowl party tomorrow night. I'm taking Mom's Chocolate Eclair dessert.

Working on the plans for Shawn's birthday party. Couldn't decide between a Bear in The Big Blue House theme or a Thomas the Train theme, so it will be a mixture of the 2.

Brad added links to his & Sheri's website on this site, so you can click between the 3.

You will notice a new spot on my web page - the word feedback. Brad was able to set me up with a comment section! Just click on the word feebback & add your comments!

Took Shawn to his 6 month checkup for the tubes in his ears. His right tube had fallen out & I guess it has been out for some time. His left tube is still in place & open. They did a test to check the pressure behind his eardrum in his right ear & that checked out good. Checked his tonsels, nose, etc & gave him a clean bill of health. We go back in May to check his left ear. Between now & then, we just have to hope that nothing develops in his right ear. If it does, he would have to most likely go in for surgery again & get the tube put in again.

Getting ready to watch American Idol - I love that show. Tim is getting our dinner ready for tomorrow night. Beer brats in the crock pot - new receipe...

We spent the weekend cleaning the house - took down the changing table in the living room because Shawn is just way to big for it. Unfortunely, we had no where to store it so it is up in his room with toys & stuffed animals on it. It's pretty crowded up there now. All of his clothes are finally in his dressers (before I had his clothes in baskets underneath his changing table). The living room looks really empty now.

We are currently saving money for a down payment on a new house. It won't be until sometime next year, but we would like 4 bedrooms, a full basement, a large kitchen with an island, a workshop area or a garage big enough for Tim to putz in, a back yard for Daub & Shawn & a master bathroom. Those are just a few things that we are looking for. We'll see how long it takes us to get to our money goal!!

Made reservations at the Embassy Suite hotel in Dublin for the Friday we leave Hocking Hills (Valentine's Day). We were going to stay at the Embassy by Brad & Sheri's old house, but it was a lot more expensive than the one in Dublin. Thought that was wierd. We like Embassy Suites b/c you get the free mixed drinks in the evening & the breakfast in the morning. We'll probably just hit a mall & then head back to Toledo.

I have to travel to Troy, MI for the day on Monday to look at a new payroll system. Troy is about 2 hours from here. The meeting isn't until 2 pm so I will hit downtown Detroit rush hour traffic on the way back which sucks!! It will add extra time to my return time. I will then have to spend 2 1/2 days in Dearborne MI in the near future for training. I will stay over for that trip.

Tim came home yesterday and said that a woman from his office had been complaining of not feeling well on Friday. On Sunday night, she called her boss & said that she felt like she had an ear ache & had a doctors appt shceduled for first thing Monday morning. She said that she would be in after that. She got to the doctors & I guess she passed out & died right in the office. She was 35 & from what Tim thinks, no history of health problems. Shook up the whole office. Pretty sad - she had been married 10 years.

We are going on a mini vacation in February. We are leaving February 12th for Hocking Hills to stay in a cabin there - www.hockinghills.com/hhcabins . We have stayed there once before. We are staying there on the 12th & 13th & checking out on Valentines Day. We will then head to Columbus, find a hotel & eat a Valentines dinner there. I am going to make dinner reservations soon for some restaurant there - all you Columbus people - give me a recommendation!! I haven't lived there for awhile. We will come home on the 15th. Mom & Dad will watch Shawn & Dauber. We feel bad leaving Shawn on Valentines Day, but I know he will get a ton of love from Nana & Poppy!!

Mom & Dad took Shawn Friday night. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, went to Wal Mart in Bowling Green & then came home because it was so cold. On Saturday morning, we woke up restless to go somewhere. We decided to get a hotel room in Ponitac, MI & go to the indoor outlet mall in Auburn Hills. It is about 1 1/2 hours from here. We called Mom & Dad to see if they wanted to go along. Dad had to work Saturday night & Sunday night, so Mom came. We were able to get a 2 bedroom suite at a Residence Inn. Really nice room. We went to the mall & shopped.

Tim got a couple of shirts and a black light to charge the stars on Shawn's ceiling. It is really neat. Shawn goes in & says "Oh sky" "Oh, Stars" "Moon" He really likes it. We alos got Shawn a Percy train piece from his Thomas & Friends collection.

Shawn feel asleep on the way back to the hotel. As were heading back, we saw a carry out for Guido's pizza. Mom went in & got the menu & we headed back to the hotel. While Shawn slept, we ate the Big Guido, an antipasta salad & garlic bread. It was pretty good. When Shawn woke up, we all changed into our bathing suits & headed to the pool. We had to go outside briefly to get to the pool & that was freezing!! Their was no one in the pool!! We were happy. We were going to go into the pool, but it was really cold. The hot tub hadn't been on all day, so the water was about 80 degrees. So, we all went in there. Shawn was so happy. He kept saying bubbles & fun & happy. After about 3 times of turning on the timer, we could finally feel the water getting warmer ( the sign stated that it was suppose to be between 101 & 104 degrees). So, we pulled Shawn out & we all headed back to the room.

Sunday morning we got up & went to the comp breakfast in the hotel. We had scrambled eggs, sausage, coffe, yogurt, V8, waffles & muffins. Pretty good. We then headed to Target & back to the Mall. Tim had 2 Gamesworks cards - one from Vegas & one from Columbus. Their readers couldn't read the cards & then Tim realized that they expire after 1 year. He was bummed. Took Shawn to a play area & then we headed home. Stopped off at another mall on the way home. Shawn didn't want to shop, so it was a quick trip through there. We will go back there again - it was a neat mall.

Came home, unpacked, went to Sam's Club & then dropped off Mom & picked up Dauber. We were tired!! We had to pick up the house because we finally have a Electrian coming to fix our microwave problem!

It seems like I am always playing catch up - either at work or home or with this website. There never seems to be enough of me to go around. Had Christmas in Cleveland this past weekend. Shawn got a ton more toys - a Fisher Price farm house & airport, a Leap Pad imagination desk, books, a talking grill, and a matchbox car race track. He also got 3 Christmas ornaments. When Brad & I were growing up, each set of grandparents would buy us an ornament each year. When I moved out, all of my ornaments came with me & they now hang on our tree. I carried on that tradition for Shawn. It's fun to see the ornaments each year.

Starting to plan his birthday party. I was going to keep it small, but that just isn't any fun. He doesn't need anything so it will be more of just a join us & eat celebration, but don't bring a gift. It will be here before we know it.

Our microwave draws too many amps when it is running, which causes our breakers to keep tripping. I have been trying to get a electrian to return my calls for 2 days now to come out for a service call & I have had no luck. The commerical places charge you an $80 consulting fee & then you have to schedule another appointment to have your problem fixed. I have been calling licensed individual contractors. I gave up today & turned the job over to Tim - maybe a guy calling will get more results.

Shawn goes to Mom & Dad's on Friday nights for a sleep over, so Tim & I are planning on going out to dinner and then on Saturday, cleaning & running errands. It is a nice break for all of us!! We can't thank Mom & Dad enough for being willing to take him every week!!!

We got hit with a lot of snow this afternoon. When I came home, I got Shawn all dressed in his boots, hat, jacket, gloves, etc & thought I would take him outside & have him "help" me shovel the snow. I got 2 rows done when I heard Shawn crying. I turn around & he had his gloves off & both hands were stuck in the snow. He was frozen in place, kind of like in shock at how cold his hands were. So I freak out & race him inside, thinking that his hands were frostbiten & would fall off!!!! I shove his hands under warm water & he still kept crying & his hands were still bright red. Tim came home & helped to get Shawn to stop crying. Shawn won't be helping me again anytime soon.

We went to a coworkers apartment for part of New Years. They live downtown on the fifth floor of an office building. The whole floor is their place. It is really neat. We took Shawn & stayed until about 10:45pm & then headed home. Shawn had fallen asleep before we got home, so we put him to bed, changed clothes & prepared to watch the last hour of Dick Clark. Needless to say, Tim woke up with 4 seconds left until 2003 & woke me up so I wouldn't miss it. All I was concerned about was if I could go to bed. Typical new year for us!!

We are going over to Tim's friend Bo's tomorrow night to watch the Ohio State game. We will leave Saturday morning for Christmas in Cleveland with Tim's family.
It' s been since November since they have seen Shawn, so it will be fun for them to hear all of the stuff that he has been saying. He latest thing is to turn the lights off & say "Oh,dark". He will turn them on & off, playing this game. He has also taken to not wearing his shoes & socks at daycare. He doesn't wear them at home & I guess he must feel at home there. It has taken me some getting use to - thinking about all of the possible germs/dirt, etc on his feet. His favorite word these days seems to be "no". Everything is "no" with a temper tantrum. I guess we are getting ready for the terrible 2's.