Love for Logan Benefit

For once I'm going to put something of substance on here. We have some friends, Brian and Anita Keating, who's 2 1/2 yr. old son is in need of another heart surgery. He will require a long recovery period so Anita is going to stay home with him. They are going to have a benefit dance for him to help with the income they are going to lose because of this decision. The Keatings have always thrown stellar shindigs so if you don't have any plans Aug 3, please come and party with us and help support sweet baby Logan. Everyone is invited, but tickets are limited.

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2523308

Gardencourt
Louisville Presbyterian Seminary
1044 Alta Vista Road

August 3, 2007
8:00 pm – 12 midnight

$20.00 single or $30.00 per couple

contact Marcia email mhampton53@hotmail.com

A Pregnant Cheerleader KICKED MY BUTT!!!

Okay, since I've started working at the gym and in turn get a free membership I decided that I was going to go whole hog for two weeks (until vacation) and try to get my body fat % down by 6. My grand plan was to go everynight except for days I work and just take whatever class was scheduled. Yesterday was a weight type class, and I woke up a little sore. So today was supposed to be a cardio class and HOLY CRAP! Let me just say that everyone in the class was like <5'5" and then to top it off three were pregnant. I totally couldn't keep up. The pregnant chick in front of me was bopping around like a dancer for J.Lo. Now not only couldn't I keep up but the instructor was speaking some kind of foreign language, let me just give you an idea...

Okay everyone, we are going to start we a double walk, now pump it out, okay, diagonal across the box, and let me see your football, now we are going to mambo, cha cha back, and then grapevine back to start.

And that was just the stuff I could make out over the music. So needless to say I quit when we started to "take it up a level". I was a little bit embarassed that I couldn't keep up, but hey at least I was there. And to top it off, by body fat when down 2% between Sunday and today...so I guess it was worth it. (But I secretly wish I could have knocked over the pregnant perky chick in front of me)

Tuesday Nostalgia

I used to love this show...of course I was like 10 when it was on.

Good food, good company, good weekend.

Micah didn't ask for much for father's day, he just wanted to go to Jeff Ruby's for dinner. Our favorite steakhouse is The Precinct in Cincinnati and they are owned by the same guy. The food was awesome! (but a bit overpriced). All in all I would recommend The Precinct above Jeff Ruby's, the ambiance is much nicer. We went with some friends, Brock and Laura, and just talked and ate for 4 hrs. It was a great night out.

Sunday we drove home and just bummed around the house with the kids for awhile. The neighbors came over with a hopscotch/sprinkler they bought for Grey and then we ate the catfish the guys caught the day before. It was a nice weekend.

Happy Father's Day!!!

To the worlds greatest father...I love you so much.
I hope you know how priceless you are. I know you feel like
you don't spend enough time with the kids but I hope this
shows you how many memories you've already built with
them. You are WONDERFUL!

And to my dad, I love you! Thanks for showing me what a
real man should look like. I'm so glad you wanted to be my dad!

Playgroup at the park

Well, the turnout wasn't huge but we had a great morning at the park.

Lydia


Kristi & Connner


Keaton and Grey


Keaton & Clay


Grey-monkey


Caged Animal


Jaba the hut, in a swing

Back to the grindstone...kinda

Well, thanks to Amy, who hooked me up with a cush job, I'm now part of the working world again (2days/wk, 3hrs/day). I know it's not much but it feels like a big step considering that I haven't worked in 4 yrs. I watch the child care room at a gym, which yesterday had a ton of little girls. I got to do hair, dance to Hannah Montana, and pretend to be a giraffe. It was a lot of fun. The sweetest perk is a gym membership, I can't wait to use that and start working out. I've been talking about it since Gentry was born but our gym here in town has teenagers in the child care room and I just don't trust them. So here we go, lets see if I actually do it. The only downside is it's a $12 round trip in the suburban, so I think on the days I work Micah will be riding his bike to work and I will be taking the focus. I'm so not thrilled about driving the little blue tuna can, but it's half the price, so I guess I should.

Wealth and the Middle Class...how do you feel about it?

Gentry is 9mo. today

Went to the doctors today for Gentry's 9mo checkup. He's doing great (for a horse), he's 23lbs. and 28in. I don't' remember how big his head was, but I do know that it was in the 95%! So he's on par for the family...big! Poor thing, he's going to have to go on daily allergy medicine, he just has horrible eczema and he's always fussy. We spent two hours outside yesterday and he's covered head to toe in a rash because of it. I don't know how I feel about him taking medicine everyday, but I think I took benadryl 300/365 days a year growing up, so he'll survive.

Republican primary debate

Well I caught the debate last night (missed the dems b/c in-laws were in town), and there actually seemed to be some pretty good guys up there. Unfortunately, there was 10 of them so you only got to hear from each of them a couple times, but none the less is was encouraging. I hadn't heard of a couple of them, and after hearing there responses I can guess why.
Ron Paul seemed to only be able to answer a question by attacking both parties...I don't think that's going to get him anywhere.
Mike Huckabee had an awesome answer when asked about our greatest moral dilemma...he said that the rep. should focus on the sanctity of life not only from conception to birth, but from conception to death. That was basically the umbrella he used to cover abortion, poverty, war, and health care. I really liked his answer.
Former Sec. of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson has a very thoughtful and stat filled answer for health care questions (and I would expect no less), so when asked about his forte he showed great clarity, but I don't think he could do that for every topic.
When asked about conservation in the rep. agenda Sam Brownbeck's answer definitely hit his base, he said make it profitable and the free market will do the rest. This was spot on for a capitalist society.
Tom Tancredo kinda came off looking like a jerk. I agree with him on some things, but I think he has the same problem Pres. Bush has, he's not a great communicator.


Now for the big guns...


I just don't like McCain, he maybe the most moderate, but I don't really know because he seems to hide a lot of things. I did however like his answer on govt. spending. He said he "would veto any bill with a pork barrel project and make the authors famous". I think accountability is good and much needed right now.


Rudy Guliani was probably the most poised with some of the best answers, but I do expect that of him, he's been on a national platform for a long time. My only problem with him is that he's pro-choice. Mitt Romney put it best when he said the Rep. party will ultimately vote off of principal not personality(i.e. Pres. Bush). So I think in the long run we would loose the White House due to this.


Then there's Mitt Romney, I like this guy. He's already made a good impression with the masses, and that's impressive for someone who was virtually unknown. He's very diplomatic and gracious (we could use some of that with foreign policy), he knows his base, and he seems really honest. When asked about airing adds in Spanish, he very honestly said, "I want them to vote for me". I don't think he answered one question where I had a gut jerk reaction, and I can't say that of anyone else.


So I'm still listening, hopefully you are too, because I think this next election is gonna be a doosy!

New Resturant

Talked to Micah's dad today and he's opening his latest resturant next week. It's a throwback to his bbq days, oh how I miss his ribs!!
Found these old reviews... http://events.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/travel/07njDINE.html

Here's a video clip... http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=90973@wcbs.dayport.com

Perspective, perception, perfection

At church we have been talking about neighbors, barriers, brotherhood, community, & social responsibility. This is always circling around in my head because we don't live anywhere near family and because of that Micah and I lean on each other A LOT. It's created problems over the years because for either of us to go out and have fun, it usually means the other must stay home with the kids. The years before kids were hard too because we would want to go out but were post frat party stage, to young to bar hop, and too broke to do anything else. Luckily we really are each others best friends and that was the awesome byproduct of all that time spent together. But even best friends need buffers occasionally and that's where your friends and neighbors come in. They are your gauge, they add perspective. Hopefully it's more than a case of keeping up with the Jones', it should be a support system.

You can't pick your neighbors, at our first house we were just surrounded by heartache, divorce, and infertility. That can make it hard for a newlywed newly pregnant couple. So, when we moved to this house and I prayed...really, really prayed, every night that our neighbors would be what we needed. And God delivered BIG on that prayer. We have two neighbors that have become family, we have an older couple who have been married for decades and have gone through a lot of heartache but are still in love (rare and wonderful to see). We are on a friendly first name basis with all of our neighbors in the court. The other day I needed to run to the courthouse and didn't want to drag the kids, so I called Jineane and she wasn't going to be home in time, so I walked over to Gerry's and she put down her paintbrush and came right over. Now that's a blessing! We may not have family to call on but we do have great neighbors. Some are liberals, some conservative, some goth. But they love to see my kids, they offer up their tools for projects, and they always wave.

Now friends you can pick, but there's a catch, they have to pick you too (and your spouse). It's got to be a four way friendship, and then if you add in kids it becomes an exponential equation, but good friends can really make life amazing. So we've been working on that, and it's surprising where you'll find them. Some you find at church, a dinner party, or the grocery store. And I dare say we are doing well, after inviting about 20 couples over for dinner over the past couple years we've got a great roster of friends.

So now we have friends and neighbors we love, where do we go from here? Do you just stop and become complacent or do you seek more? Back to church, how do we break down walls and go further into our community and be productive. How do you become useful to God in all your relationships. I don't think He puts everyone we know in our charge, but what about the people you do feel a connection or responsibility towards. I don't think anyone feels comfortable around someone who is constantly trying to be inspiring and quote scripture or throw fortune cookie sayings around, but have you ever had God prompt you to say something outside of your comfort zone to someone else? I know I have and I'm always amazed at how the other persons face looks when I say it.

I wonder sometimes, did God make things tough in the beginning because I'm a slow learner. Maybe I'm one of those people who would've taken everything and everyone for granted. But now I actually try to be a good friend and neighbor, I'll bring food, turn off your water hose, get your mail, remember your birthday. Is that what God meant us to do. I guess if we don't have a traditional community it is our responsibility to build one?

I don't really know where I was going with all that, just rambling I guess.

PS-There are two houses in my cul-de-sac for sale "won't you be my neighbor?"

I finally found my camera....

Here are some pics from last weekend.


Beautiful Chrisman Mill


Tired baby


Mrs. Colonel and Harrison

Gentry's worst day ever (and mine)

Starting yesterday morning he rolled off the changing table (I was standing in front of him but he went around me). I caught him before he hit the floor but he did bang the table a bit.

Then he was playing in an empty kitchen cabinet and he fell out face first onto the the tile floor. He has a bruise on the tip of his nose now.

Last night while we ate dinner, he was playing with some pots and pans. One of them crashed to the floor and scared him, he jumped and slammed into the door. He has a scratch on the bridge of his nose.

The the big one...playing in the bath, he used the side of the tub to stand up. He started to tip out so I nudged his shoulders back in, his feet slipped, his chin clocked the side of the tub, and his two bottom teeth busted through his top gum. His mouth was full of blood, it was bad.

And to top it all off his eczema is horrible from being outside so much this weekend. His skin looks like leather.

So needless to say he was dosed with orajel, tylenol, and benadryl before bed. I guess you could say that I was not a great mom yesterday...I kinda sucked.

Extraviganza!

We had a stellar weekend
It started Friday when Micah got home from Pittsburg and like a night on a shining silver horse he brought home my suburban with a working air conditioner. We took the kids over to the neighbors and headed to Chrisman Mill for our Tuscan-style dinner. We got a little lost on the way, which always stresses me out, but we got there. The atmosphere was great, there were only 10 other people, the french doors were open, and in between courses we went outside and did a little stargazing. The food was good and there was a ton of it. I think we ate for nearly 3 hours!! The wine was a little on the green side but Micah had a little tete-a-tete with the winemaker about it and he fessed up, he said that they didn't have a very good crop and had to do a lot of blending. And due to Micah's bold move we scored our first taste of tank wine. It was the 2005 that they hadn't bottled yet, it tasted much better than the stuff they served with dinner so we will anticipate when they finally get around to bottling this vintage.

Saturday we bummed around and took a late afternoon nap (5-7), this was a mistake because the kids did not want to go back to bed, but we couldn't resist.

Sunday Micah went on a 6am bike ride, then we headed off to church, then went to an evening BBQ with some new friends. It's always fun to be around new people, even though I feel as if my social skills have plummeted since having children. Sometimes I feel like Tommy from Rugrats. I think I'm talking very plainly but everyone else just hears babbles. That mixed with the fact that I usually look a little haggard, and well, I just don't feel like the life of the party. But we were received warmly and a few brave souls even tried our Paint Thinner Bloody Mary's, and if you wonder what's in them....here you go
Tomato Juice-half bottle
V-8 Hot-half bottle
3 tbsp. Lemon Juice
3 tbsp. Lime Juice
1 tbsp. Celery Salt
1 tbsp. Lemon Pepper
1 tbsp. Dill Weed
1 tbsp. Horseradish
1 tbsp. Picapepper Sauce
1 tbsp. Tiger Sauce
1 tbsp. Tabasco
1 tbsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 tbsp. Sriacha Sauce
2 tbsp. Worchester Sauce
Pickled Jalapenos (equal to one whole)
Vodka half a 1/5+-

Monday we slept until 9!!!!!!! Gentry slept from 8-9, it was freaking awesome! There was more bumming and then we went to another BBQ. But unlike the BBQ the day before our kids were the only ones there and the house wasn't childproof. So we were nervous wrecks who spent most of our time trying to keep Grey out of trouble and Gentry happy. So we left about 7, came home and had a drink.

Crazy weeks continue

We went out last friday night with our much loved neighbors, after two years of knowing one another this was only the third dinner we have ever had with them that didn't include our children...reason being that they are the ones who usually watch the kids so we can go out. Now you understand why we love them so much. We went to our fav. steak house in Lexinton, The Chop House and had a wonderful dinner by the fireplace. We went to Coldstone after for some yummy icecream and then headed home.

Saturday we had a ton of stuff to get done. Micah got up at 6:00 to go on a bikeride and got home about 11, he mowed the lawn and then finished my pantry shelves (part of my mother's day present). They turned out spectacular!!!

We got ready to go to Cinncinati for Micah's ACS conference. I was a little skeptical at first, so Micah was going to drive us home Monday night and then go back up until Wednesday. After we got there I saw that we had a suite, so Gentry was able to take his naps without Grey waking him up. So we stayed and played on the elevators, swam in the pool, and played with Emmy the hotel parrot. They were doing construction on the building next door so Grey was in crane heaven. It was a lot of fun! One of the coolest things was the free bar from 5-7:30 everynight.

Thank You SJP!!!

You may think this is going to become a shallow tribute to Sarah Jessica Parker, but it's not. I saw an advertisement saying that she was going to be on Oprah today...so I thought I'd watch. And low and behold she's started a new clothing line called "Bitten". The cool thing is that there is nothing in the the 400+ items over $19.99!!!

About 2 yrs ago I read a book called "Disciplined Woman" by Ann Sanders. It was written back in the '70's and it talked about all the things a woman can do to make her family feel more loved and to streamline her home. One of the things she did to accomplish this was to strip everything from her closet that wasn't essential. She was a preachers wife, so for her that meant having 5 dresses, 7 pantsuits, 5 daytime outfits, etc. Not only did she pair the clothing in her closet so that she new exactly what outfits she had be she knew what accessories and shoes went with each. Her reasoning was that women waste way to much time and money trying to look good and get dressed in the morning (and most of us get angry in the process).

So I decided that that was something I could do, and then I got pregnant, and then had a baby, and then lost the baby weight...anyway it's been a little hard to get the outfit thing down. But I have stuck by the second part of the resolution I made that day and that was to not spend more than $10 on a piece of clothing from then on. Now I have made an exception here and there. I spent $27.99 on a dress ($400 retail, used on ebay) for our anniversary and $15 on a pair of Christmas dress slacks, but for the most part I've stuck with it.

That's why I'm excited. For the past couple years I have had to shop very carefully, usually used (not that I care). It takes so much less time to know you can just walk in a store and be able to buy something, instead of having to search for the sale rack and then scourer it for the best deal. And now I can buy clothes that actually have a "cut" to them again (and ladies you know what I mean). So watch out everyone, I just may start to look fashionable once again!!!!

gentry6

gentry6
Originally uploaded by AmiElizabeth.

Mirror, Mirror, In my mouth...okay nothing goes with mouth, but luckily he didn't have any bugurs.

gentry7

gentry7
Originally uploaded by AmiElizabeth.

The Schulz ears strike once again, I just hope he doesn't fly away!

grey3

grey3
Originally uploaded by AmiElizabeth.

Grey thought that this was a good outfit to go outside and play in....he has his daddy's sense of style :-)

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend was all around great. We went to Laura's graduation party Saturday afternoon and had some great BBQ. Grey had a blast outside assaulting some 5 yr old neighborhood kid. I also made a cake for Laura as a gift and I fretted over it all week so finally finishing it was a relief. It turned out great considering it was my first attempt at fondant and sugar paste. The best part was it turned out just like the sketch I drew up earlier in the week...I love when things go just as planned, I know, I'm a bit Martha that way.



Then Saturday night we went out for sushi with some friends we used to go to church with. It was the first time we have had sushi and surprise surprise we loved it. We totally gorged ourselves, the waitress brought Micah and my food and put it in the middle of the table because she thought it was for all four of us. Little did she know that we have the appetite of a very large mid-western trucker.

Sunday morning was crunch time. We were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Micah had to be at church early to watch the junk yard kids (only nobody called to tell us that there were none this week), and it was Gentry's baby dedication, and we had to pack up some cake and other stuff to go to Louisville for the day. And since I'm horrible under pressure and I had nothing to wear, I was very unpleasant.



The baby dedication went great, our church really does a great job with that. It was very precious and meaningful for us. After church I wanted to get a group picture of my church mom friends and lets just say that chaos ensued. 8 kids under 4 tying to play, and four moms trying to smile...It took Brett and Fred making some sort of kissy/zerburt noises, Greg directing traffic, and Micah wielding the camera to get one picture, but it was worth it.

Then we headed off to New Albany, IN to see Micah's paternal grandparents. It's like going back to the '50s when your on " We sit on the screened in porch, have a vodka tonic, and listen to the silence. I just feel like we have so much to learn from them, they've been married for over 50 years, Janis has Parkinson's, Dick's cancer just came back, but they are still holding on to one another.




So all in all it was a great weekend full of family and friends. And to top it all off I got a new copper bottom skillet and Micah is building me new pantry shelves...very cool.