Happy Birthday Callahan 7 months late

Fright Night at Great America

Callahan turned 10 on March 16, 2009. For his 

party he wanted to bring a couple buddies to Great America.

By the time GA opened for the season we were well into

baseball season...for the next 7 months. One thing

led to another and before we knew what hit us, it

was Oct. and the kid still didn't get his party

Cal's party began on Saturday with 3 friends 

sleeping overnight. They spent the evening eating

and playing video games on the big screen 

Sunday we hit the road by 9am, what a perfect day for

Great America! I found if you order tickets online they are 1/2 price

they also have the Flash Pass which allows you to

bypass all lines for the top thrill rides...Well worth the extra cash.

The park wasn't real crowed to begin with so all

non roller coaster rides had a 0-10 min wait

Seriously, they really don't come any cuter than Karrick

always the show stopper

love this picture of Scooby protecting or

trying to steal Karrick

All my boys

TJ won the cape for Karrick. He played the guess my 

weight game. The guy guessed 155 lbs...way off

TJ was 122 lbs. Being  5' 8"  is deceiving

because TJ is all leg, with small bones and 

broad shoulders. Throw on a sweatshirt and jeans

and no one can guess. He played it again when a new guy

took over and this guy guessed 154 lbs. Mommy got a 

pretty purple bat woman cape...thanks TJ





way too tired to change or get his blanket and pillow 
from the basement


Happy Birthday Callahan

Good friends and some extra cash

Tonight I headed back to Beverly to my best friend

Erin's childhood home. Her mother was hosting a

Cash for gold party

it is a party similar to the Tupperware,

Pampered Chef and jewelry parties of 

yesterday. You bring in all your old gold,

such as broken chains, bracelets, ex boyfriend

or ex-husbands unwanted gifts, even grandpa's

old gold teeth. It is evaluated, rated and

 weighed right in front of you. They then give

your crisp money on the spot. I brought in 

4 old unused pieces and got a $100 bill.

I signed up to host a party in November, so

look for your invite. I will get 10% of the

parties sales. The gold expert turned out to be my

grammar school girlfriend. 

Me with my best friend Erin

OMG, did being in her mom's house bring back some

wonderful memories

Mary Kay the gold expert and my childhood friend

I got my money, I got my money...

What is nice about these parties is, you don't have to buy

any crap and you get to catch up with friends in a party

setting. Any money in these times is welcomed,

especially before the Holidays

My little angel...

My beautiful blond angel

carries a pitchfork

Million dollar smile

After 2 1/4 long years the day has finally come

My sweet baby boy got his braces off

this was the disaster we started with

and

This is perfection we ended with

KEEP SMILING KID

So close and decorations

Karrick's witch

Tim took Callahan up to the lake for some

daddy and middle child bonding, along

with taking the boat out of the water and draining 
the trailer's water pipes for the winter. 
TJ was called for a Walmart commercial audition 
on Wednesday and received a call back for Saturday
morning. Call backs are huge, because many

kids audition and 5 were called back.

Any one of these boys could have booked the commercial.
At this point it is about coloring and likeness.
They chose the mom first and then match up the kid

that most resembles the mom (in this case)

TJ did not book the commercial and

he was quite surprised He really thought he would get it.

Callahan just went through the same thing last week, where

he was the #1 option for the a different commercial 
and it was yanked away at the last minute.
It is the nature of the business. One must really have

thick skin to be in this business.

My kids have been in the business long

enough to not take anything personally. They 
will be well prepared to enter into the adult work force

interviewing process. If a child can go into a room full
of casting directors and producers all the while being

blinded by camera lights, I think they will be able

to handle anything. I look at it as 

2 commercial auditions in 2 weeks 

with 2 call backs, 1 number 1 option as a sign

of great things to come. Maybe our 2 year break

is exactly what they needed to recharge their batteries

my ogre

Karrick was so pissed off that he didn't get
to audition for a commercial. To make up for it we
made homemade Halloween decorations all weekend.

he was thrilled to have my full attention and

some pretty cool monsters.

karrick's spider with stinger

Autumn

I was 1 week early for the change of colors while in Geneva,

but on this rainy Friday I was able to snap these on my way to work

My poor Karrick

In the middle of the night Karrick starts screaming

"I'm having a bad dream!"

I put him in our bed and Yes he is still sleeping

on our floor thanks to

"Callahan teached me about the bogeyman"

Anyway, This morning I asked him if he remembered

his bad dream. With giant wide eyes he says

"oh yes, something really bad happened"

With my heart beating I say

"Can you tell me what happened?"

afraid to hear, quite honestly

With giant brown serious eyes he says

"I fought the trees were walking"

With a smile I thought to myself

"oh Thank God!"

Geneva, Illinois

Herrington Inn and Spa

Geneva Il

This weekend I packed my bags and headed west, about 16 miles.

The destination, Geneva IL. I stayed at the

The Herrington Inn and Spa

boy oh boy was it fabulous. It was built in the mid 1800's

as the Rock Springs Creamery owned by James Herrington.

Now over 150 years later this limestone building has been restored

and is known as The Herrington.

When I decided to go on my walk about, I googled

quaint Illinois towns and this caught my eye

(I had considered going to Amish land)

I've decided that I adore old hotels, we stayed at the

Burhnam Hotel over the summer .

Both of these hotels are filled with history

The exterior is Limestone covered with vines

The hotel sits on the Fox River, I took this from the bridge

Lobby

I took so many pictures just of the hotel, it is very unique

low ceilings, stone floors and plaster textured walls

front door looking into the lobby

I felt as though I was in a small castle

There was a damn on the other side of the bridge so

the water was fast moving with the sounds of waterfalls

top and bottom taken from my balcony

a large semi circle window on my floor that

looks over the front foyer

staircase to lobby

This is my room, it was the last one available, hence the

double beds. Starts at $229 a night and goes up to $505

a night. I would die to see that room

dessert brought to my room.

Also, every night at 7pm the chambermaid

knocks on your door and give you warm fresh homemade

chocolate chip cookies and milk

(in old fashioned milk bottles)

The town is just precious. There are some 200 shops

in downtown Geneva all housed in old Victorian homes.

I wish I would have taken pictures inside. The rooms

are all still intact, every nook and cranny is utilized.

Old panrties, radiators, tubs, kitchen cabinets etc

display the items. Not like a garage sale, just quaint

little shops and galleries

I treated myself to this original smokey topaz ring

with little diamonds on the sides

Being all alone I was able to come and go as I please.

I shopped (5 hours straight walking) I ate at cute restaurants.

Everyone is super friendly. At night I took hot jetted bathes and

relaxed by the fire.

I bought myself clothes in little boutiques, bought myself roses

at the French market and all kinds of little trinkets.

If I had to sum it up in 1 word it would be

"Precious"

I anticipated riding "Bessie" my 1950 pink

Schwinn and photographing

the fall scenery, but it was damp and chilly and green

I came home to my boys relaxed and recharged

Walk About

Tim and I have been seeing a husband wife team

of life coaches at the Lighthouse. It's pretty cool.

The homework assignments are really

fun and things we would never think to do on our own.

Such as carrying around a large rock for 4+ months, (me)

to represent the weight of holding onto anger and resentments.

We also get to go on many dates.

The goal is to become the

best person that you are capable of being. When you begin

to shine, the world will shine around you

I am off to a fabulous "Mary" weekend. In 1 hour

I will hit the road to an undisclosed location and spend 3 days

alone, all alone! No kids, alone! No husband, alone :(

The goal of this "walk about" is to rediscover who I am as

a person besides a wife and a mother. I am going to

do things just for me

without any time constraints. The hardest part of this

is I am not allowed to have any contact with Tim or the boys.

Tim will also get to experience his own "walk about" at a later date.

I'm sure my boys will have a great "no girls allowed" weekend

and I will come home refreshed and hopefully a spiritually

stronger person, wife and mother

See ya Sunday!