Andy and the Mountaineers

Andy is always graced with a birthday close to the beginning of Mountaineer football season. And he loves it. What better way to kick-off your next year than with the excitement and hubbub centered around our university's cherished tradition of football. I believe it helps him not focus on the number he just added to his age.

So I'm focusing this post on Andy's presents and dinner on his birthday with his cute little family (yeah, that's us.) Concluding the post with pictures from the best part of his birthday week...having his cute family with him at the first WVU football game of the season.



Showing off Daddy's birthday presents - new tennis gear. Yes, Drea's holding up my new racket...I know, it was Andy's birthday but I got a new racket too but how else can I ever come close to beating him. We decide last time we played that we have had the same rackets for at least 9 years.



Out to Red Lobster for Daddy's birthday dinner. Thank goodness for gift cards that place is way too expensive anymore. Drea loved the biscuits just like her Daddy and Charlotte went bonkers for the macaroni and cheese.



Barrett with his pull up on his head and taling on my phone - I think this was his special gift to Andy because it was hilarious.



Charlotte mocking Barrett...go figure.



WVU vs. Coastal Carolina.



This is Drea and her friend, Alyanna. Her family sits right behind us so we get to visit every season.

Drea, cheering her heart out for her Mountaineers.



Charlotte "cheesing" with Daddy.

Nunnie was able to come to the game with us. She loved getting to hold her Drea during her third quarter nap. Drea has probably taken a nap during every home game she has attended since she was born.



Charlotte hearts kettle corn.

Well, Andy, we always enjoy your birthday as much as you do. (Well, I got a tennis racket out of it.) Who doesn't love a night out with the best dad and husband in the world and a great Mountaineer football weekend. We love you Andy!

Family Camping 2010

I'm catching up on some end of the summer picture blogs. Here are some shots from our camping weekend with our friends, Dave, Kevin, Amber and Mackenzie. This was our annual family camping trip and this year we decided to venture to Deep Creek in Marlyand. The area is really beautiful there. We would love to go back even to just take the kids to the beach again there. Drea and Mackenzie loved the beach and Andy enjoyed getting to kayak. I forgot my camera that day so you won't see any of those pictures. It was supposed to be kayaking with the kids but that didn't work out as planned. We also took a hike down to Swallow Falls on Sunday and ended our weekend with great pizza at Brenda's Pizzeria and ice cream at the Lakeside Creamery. Here are some of the pictures from our adventure.

Mackenzie and Drea playing in the tent.

Charlotte wasn't very happy that the big girls were playing without her.

Charlotte enjoying a fire with Amber.

Morning girls. Ready for the day to begin.

Breakfast clean-up time.

This was on our hike to Swallow Falls. Mackenize and Drea wanted to be adventurous and not walk on the path.



I love this picture.

I think they were looking at some waterfall or something.

Friends.

A good scenery shot.

The falls were beautiful and worth the sweat back up to the top.

Thanks Tennants and Dave Shaver - another successful camping trip. We always enjoy our adventures with you guys and look forward to it every year.

Link

I'm taking a minute to plug on e of my links on the right hand side of this page because I'm really enjoying it.
iMom is a great parenting site with lots of good articles, information and tips. Their tagline is "Inspiration. Ideas. Information. Insight." I am getting exactly that out of it so far.

I signed up for their daily emails and I enjoy reading the quick little paragraph each morning. At the end of each email there is a section called "Tonight's Pillow Talk." It gives you an idea of something to ask your kids and talk about with them. All too often I think we do a lot of talking AT our kids and not a lot of talking WITH them or listening to them. So I have been trying to use this avenue in bedtime discussions with Drea. The other day the question was, Do you think our home is super clean, kind of clean, just right, kind of messy, or super messy? And what do you think about that? Great question! I loved the thought of gauging what your child really thinks about that which you slave over to "make a good home for them." Anyway, the answer turned out okay for us. : ) I just enjoyed getting to listen to her and I know she enjoyed that I wanted her opinion. Anyway, there have been a lot of other interesting questions (not just about your house.)

Anyway, I know many of us don't need something else to read daily or another website to visit so I just wanted to share something with you from the daily email this morning. It's a quick, little story called "A Man, a Mugger and a Miracle." I think it might be the easiest if I share the link. Feel free to read it if you want.

http://www.imom.com/page.php?id=188

Have a great day!

Oh, by the way...there is also a site for dads called AllProDad. I was trying to remember how I found these sites and then I remembered my friend Ben Young mentioned them on his blog. Thanks Ben!

Task-oriented

I am task-oriented. Sometimes this is my positive character trait. I can get things done. I can usually get things done quickly. I can multi-task (well except when it comes to carrying on a conversation.) I am pretty efficient and can find the best way to get things done (or at least the best way for me.) Like I said, this can be a positive trait and an asset to those around me. My goal usually all day long is to get things done. Accomplish things. Completing a task, any task, is accomplishing things to me.

Last night I was contemplating like many other times before, how this can absolutely, positively be one of my biggest downfalls at the same time. Throughout my whole day, I incur task after task. Whether it's ironing what I will wear for the day, making dinner, or getting the girls ready for the day, everything is about getting something done. I find I have trouble relaxing and just enjoying moments without reminding myself that the current task needs to get done.

Getting the girls ready for bedtime is when I realize this the most. For me, it's all about completing the job. Making it from point A to point B by an appropriate bed time. Making it to lights out before hours have somehow flown by. When I give the girls a bath, I'm not sure if they get to have much fun because I need to get everyone washed and out of the tub to complete that task and move on to the next.

This is such a huge battle for me. I want my girls to enjoy time with me and not think I am constantly moving them along to the next task. Why can't I stop and breathe for a minute and not worry about getting them in bed so the job is complete. I want to stop thinking about the next thing that needs done as soon as I get the current thing done. (Sorry, I'm not using the best and most eloquent language, but I think you get it.)

Tonight I was reading to Charlotte and kept looking up at the clock thinking about how late it was getting. We needed to wrap this up, get to bed and check Charlotte's bedtime off the list for the evening. Then Charlotte pulled a book off the shelf that I had bought for Drea. It's called Dreams for My Daughter. I read the whole thing to her (even though she stopped paying attention to it well into the second page) and it made me think about the dreams I do have for my girls. How I want to take the time to tell them and love on them. It made me contemplate this personality trait I possess and how I can turn it off before my girls only remember me as the mom who rushed them along to the next task. I love them so much! I can't believe every day that God has given me these beautiful little people to care for and help mold. I only hope I can slow down and help point them towards their dreams and not miss the true moments.



Dreams for My Daughter
by Polly Blair

Every day you surprise me, impress and inspire me.
I loved you before I even saw your face.
I dreamed of the fun we'd have together
and of the tea parties we would host.
My daughter, while I can't be with you every step of the way,
my arms and heart are always open for you,
and I wish for you these gifts:
An ocean-wide sense of wonder
and an open heart for love.
I wish for you the joy of catching snowflakes on your tongue,
playing with best friends,
getting lost in a good book,
and time to dream.
I wish you remember to test the water first,
but know sometimes you will just need to jump in!
I wish for you the joy of giving, and forgiving, and of giving thanks.
I wish for you to know that you will find rainbows even on umbrella days.
I wish for you the gift of knowing that mistakes are part of growing
Hurts will heal, because you'll find that laughter is truly the best medicine.
I treasure every time we giggle together, cry together, and smile together.
My daughter, you are my bright star.
You sparkle and glitter and shine.
I wish for every day to be a wonderful adventure.
There is nothing you can't do.
I believe in you.

My new little treasures

One of my favorite stores EVER is The Container Store. It's this organizational heaven that has any and every type of jar, bucket, bowl, bin, drawer, jug, shelf, or any other type of storage container you can imagine...hence, the name. The also have random things sometimes too.

I visited one of these stores before in Columbus, Ohio. It was an escape into a dream world for me where you could easily spend hours without even realizing it. My dream job would probably be a professional organizer. My house doesn't always reflect this but for me organizing someone else's world is even more satisfying.

We don't have a Container Store close to us but I often visit their website when I'm looking for an organizational solution. I wanted to show you my recent finds because I get excited like a little kid.

This is our new toothbrush holder. How cute is that? Our bathroom is green and white and our old toothbrush holder was getting yucky no matter how much I cleaned it.


This is a pet hair lifter I ordered. Classification: random stuff. Like I said sometimes they have random things but it works pretty good. I'm always interested in new and different ways to keep the pet hair off of things.
AND.....my most treasured purchase lately is....shoe boxes. I have always liked keeping my shoes in their original boxes because they stack in the closet nicely and I thought easier to find until I saw these above. How much easier to find your shoes when you can see exactly which shoe is in a box. They stack so neatly because they are all the same size. So after salivating over them for a really long time I finally talked Andy into letting me get them. We were so busy for a while I didn't even get to take them out of the box. When I did find the time it was so much fun to put them together and organize my shoes. I was so proud of my beautiful closet that I had to take a picture of it to show someone because how oftern to people come in our bedroom. So here it is...my pride and joy...my closet.

Isn't it beautiful?! I am so pleased with it. You can't see all of the boxes because some of them are below, too.

These boxes aren't only for shoes...they show this other image on the website for an additional view so you can see that they can be used for many, many things. Doesn't that just look like a masterpiece? I know what you are thinking...I can't believe you spent your money on boxes. Boxes. They are only $1.79 each although if you buy their case of 20 the are $6 cheaper. It was worth it to me.

Cinderella

Yesterday we went to Party in the Park, South Ridge Church's community party at 5th Street park. Drea and Charlotte had such a blast. Playing with their friends, getting their face painted, bouncy houses, prizes and who can forget...cookies.

After turning in our prize tickets, we noticed the "bookshelf" with FREE books on it for each child. This was the best prize my kids could have won. They love books! (Thank you Debbie Burgett for your giving heart.)

Drea picked out a Cinderella chapter book. Tonight we read this book at bedtime and it was very trying for my little munchkin. The title page on the inside said, "Cinderella. Retold by Susanna Davidson." After reading that I thought, uh-oh I better prepare her for this.

Drea is regimented. She likes things to stay the same. When we read to her, she will know if we changed a word, skipped a page or in any way veered from how she knows its supposed to go. So I knew this book could be a challenge for her. I prepped her by explaining that "retold" may mean it's different from the way she knows the story to go.

She was very put off by this but still wanted to continue. The book started off normally until we realized that Cinderella's dad is alive throughout the whole book. And the stepsisters have different names, Griselda and Grimella. That's where she stopped.

I tried to be excited about it. "Honey, they have new names in this book."

She said, "Mommy, you need to say their names are Drisella and Anastasia."

I said, "We should read the book the way this author intended us to read it. Let's just give it a try and you can see if you like it."

There were many other differences as the story continued. This may have been one of the hardest things for her. But she made it through the book and soaked in the differences. The book challenged her normalcies and I liked that. It was interesting to watch her reaction. We'll whether she asks to read it again tomorrow. She probably will. It will probably become her favorite. She doesn't like change but then she embraces it after she makes it through it. Probably just like many of us adults, huh?

California Love

From August 4 - 10 the Niessner family headed to California to visit my sister Laura and her family. Our trip didn't start out as planned, but we had a great time anyway. We were scheduled to fly out of Pittsburgh at 1:30 pm, however, Delta had other plans. After being delayed, for an hour, we landed in Atlanta at 4:00 pm with 20 minutes to reach our connecting flight. We ran though the airport like Noel Devine running down the football field. Giving it our best effort and running with a car seat and 4 year old, we missed our flight by 5 minutes. This started our long day in the Atlanta airport. We were on stand by for the 7:15 flight, which we didn't get on, then our 9:50pm flight was delayed until 10:30 pm. We did not land in California until midnight west coast time. We then had to drive 2 1/2 hrs to Laura's house. On the bright side we did manage to get our luggage and the rest of our trip was wonderful. Here are the pictures from our trip.

Here is the reason for our trip to CA, our new nephew Luke David

Getting ready to go though security

The girls' first plane ride

Mommy and Charlotte on the plane

On the other side of this sand dune is Mexico

Those dots are Leo and Drea

Luke and I swimming in the Colorado River in Yuma, AZ



Drea running in the river

These next two pictures are my favorites from our trip, I promise she only looks sweet.

This is at a park that was right around the corner from Laura and Leo's house, we must of rode by it 15 to 20 times and no one was ever playing at it. I guess that was because it was 112 degrees outside. We managed to go at 10am one morning it was only 95!

Drea enjoying the Pacific Ocean

Family Photo

Drea buried up to her neck, this was fun, until it was time to clean the sand off of her.

Pictured from left to right: Melissa (Leo daughter), Leo (Laura's boyfriend), Luke (in Leo's arms), Laura, Stacey, Drea, Andy, and Charlotte