Circus

We took Hannah to her first circus. It was the Aladdin Shrine Circus and wasn't very big, which was nice since we could get seats that weren't that far up in the stands. We didn't realize that their would be a "fairway" of sorts with carnival games (and food) in the same building. We didn't bring the necessary cash, and since Hannah was young enough to be entertained looking at the elephants and people we didn't have to spend the extra money....I'm sure it will be a different situation in a few years. For now, she was content to look around and just take in all of the noise, excitement, and people.

Hannah & Jon in front of the elephant rides

(we decided she was too young to spring for the $10 (or was it $20?)/person ride....)

The indoor carnival

Hannah munching on a goldfish waiting for things to start

Hannah's first taste of cotton candy!

She liked it, but didn't like having "sticky fingers" Jake was there too....and we gave him some cotton candy too!

He absolutely loved it (and demanded more!).
Hannah and Jake during intermission -- these two are quite the pair together!
Since we got Jake some cotton candy, Sheri got Hannah a balloon...which she LOVED (but kept trying to hit the people sitting near us). Jake popped his shortly after getting one, but Hannah's was around for DAYS. She frequently reminded us that "Jake popped balloon."

Hannah enjoying the show!

It was so much fun to watch Hannah actually enjoying the show. I know she'd definitely like it more in a few years, but at $5/ticket, it's a fun experience for a 2-year old. She was mesmerized by the acrobats and loved watching the dogs, horses and elephants. It was a long day and she was definitely WORN OUT by the end (as were we).

What is it about cages?!?!

I'm not sure what it is about our dog's cage that kids love....but it is a huge "attraction" at our house. Before we had Hannah, we'd have friends with kids come over and the kids almost always would end up in the cage. Now, Hannah will get in and play....sometimes she'll put her stuffed puppies into it....and now when Jake comes over to play he wants in the cage too!
Of course, once Jake is in the cage, Hannah has to get in too. They shut the door, play and "talk" to each other non-stop in there. We practically had to drag them out to get Hannah in bed and so Jake could go home with his mom & dad. Who knew that a giant dog cage could provide that kind of entertainment to toddlers?!

Hannah & Megan

Hannah absolutely loves her buddy Jake's baby sister, Megan. Megan is about 2 months old in these pictures. Hannah loves to hold Megan and constantly talks about "baby Megan" this or "baby Megan" that. It is great to watch. Someday we think she'll make a great big sister.

Megan is probably wondering what is going on!!!
Hannah trying to give Megan a kiss.
Jake had to stop and cheese for the camera once he saw I was taking pictures of his sister!

New Backsplash!

Another one of our little projects has been a new backsplash in the kitchen. Previously, we just had a beige painted wall.... Our backsplash is a multi-colored slate tile, which certainly adds a "pop" of color to the room, and I think it will be easy to match with multiple color schemes over time. It certainly livens up the otherwise beige and white kitchen! Here are the pictures of the finished product.

close-up of the tile
This clean kitchen won't last!!!!

Our kitchen looks so different now from when we first bought our house. It originally had "oak" cabinets, white walls and a white & green linoleum floor. A few years back a friend talked us into putting Brazilian cherry hardwoods throughout much of our first floor (free labor made it hard to refuse!). When we did that, our oak trim and cabinets didn't quite work with the floors, so we installed new white trim and doors throughout the first floor and painted our kitchen cabinets. Now, we're to the point that there isn't much that hasn't been changed on the first floor! So much for "buying a house because there is nothing we have to do to it."

New Mudroom!

Last year Jon and I moved our washer and dryer up to our master bathroom (which is much bigger than necessary) so we could turn our former laundry room (which is right off of the garage) into a mudroom. It was really cramped for a laundry room, and there was really no space for bookbags, coats and shoes....after growing up with a mudroom, I don't understand how people have houses without them!

Here is the finished product - our new built-in cubbies in the mudroom. It's such a small room I didn't snap a picture of the new coat hooks that are opposite the cubbies by the garage door, but it seems much more spacious now. I absolutely LOVE IT! We've got a bench to sit on, shelves for shoes, a large space that will fit Jon's giant winter boots, plenty of hooks for coats and bags, storage bin space, and small little cubbies for cell phones, gloves, etc. We even have holes drilled in the back of two of the small cubbies so electric cords can run down to the outlets. I did end up having to move my other set of storage bins to the hall closet, but that was a small sacrifice for something this nice!

Cavs Game

Jon got to have a "guy's night out" with his friend Brad and brother to see a Cavs game up in Cleveland. Jon was definitely excited to hang out with the guys for the evening and to have a chance to watch LeBron James play a great game.

Jon was also very excited to learn that they were giving away free Snuggies to everyone in attendance at the game. What Jon didn't know beforehand was that they were trying to set a world record for "most people wearing a snuggie in one place." Now, my husband has an official refrigerator magnet to show he was a participant in a world-record setting event!

Jon & Josh display their snuggies

Jon and his friend, Brad Mooney

(provider of the free tickets!)

Accident

I was in my first car accident on Friday. Everyone is fine.

I was rear-ended at a stoplight. I had stopped for the light, but the guy behind me didn't get stopped in time. Hannah was with me in the car....and despite my lawyer training, today I realized that I am the worst accident victim ever. I collected the guy's name, cell number, insurance company policy and phone numbers, driver's license number....and that's about it.

Type of car? Nope.
Cross-street? Nope.
License plate number? Nope.
Pictures with my phone? Nope.

Geesh! I swear I am actually a good attorney. I was so overwhelmed and unsure of what to do. They guy who hit me was really apologetic and admitted fault immediately -- I'm not sure if he knew what to do either! (He was also really upset that he'd hit someone with a baby in a carseat!) I'd heard on the radio that police weren't taking accident reports because the roads were a little slick and it was lightly snowing out, so I didn't know what to call or do.....So we exchanged information and I ended up filing the police report on-line later in the day. I called my insurance, who told me to call his insurance, who asked me a lot of questions and then told me an adjuster would call. By the time she called it was after 5pm. We had to find a place to get my car repaired and get a rental, but she said she'd only authorize a rental if we knew our car would be done within a week.

Saturday morning Jon and I took our car to the repair shop and called the adjuster telling her we needed a rental over the weekend. We never heard back from her...and discovered the only authorized rental place was only open until noon on Saturday and then not at all on Sunday. On Monday morning I called Enterprise at 8:05am and when I told the guy I needed to use the "we'll pick you up" service, he told me that the first pick-up was available at 3:30pm!!!! When I was like "um, I need to go to work today" he told me that "well, I usually get 24 hours notice on these things"....yeah, like I had 24 hours notice that I was going to be in an accident! In the end, I had my sister-in-law take me over shortly after 9am and they had the car ready for me by 9:20 and then I was off to work. What an ordeal.

At least the damage was fairly minimal (bumper and exhaust) and Hannah and I were both fine. Regardless of the condition of the car and the inconvenience of everything, us being safe is the most important thing.

Epilogue: My car was ready two weeks later...and it was over $1600 in damage. Fortunately, I didn't have to pay a thing and was given a rental the entire time.