Sorta Silly Stuff ... (Or Not)

Found this little cartoon online and it gave me a chuckle ... and a reminder to stick to driving when I'm driving :)

I'm Looking Forward To Thanksgiving ...

... and getting out of work early on Thanksgiving Eve ... it really feels like a holiday when they close the bank early.

... and making stuffing using mom's recipe. I almost always end up eating half of it (raw) on Thanksgiving morning ... to me that's the best part of the meal!

... and spending some time with Mom -- maybe I'll get out there early enough to see the Macy's Day Parade!

... dessert. Bree is making Apple Crisp!

... and cuddling with William again. Rocking him til he fell asleep Sunday evening was a little taste of heaven and who doesn't want a little taste of heaven on Thanksgiving?

Sometimes when there is so much "now" stuff happening, it's nice to look ahead to all the sweetness that's just around the corner.

Life is good.

William In The Fall -- Playing In The Leaves ...

We had some fun with William this morning. This time it was my chance to babysit as Papa was out with his buddies doing the GOBS thing ... (Grandfathers Only Breakfast Series.)

We started out a little rough with tears as Daddy left (we don't take it personally ... we know it's just a phase Will is going through) and while he wasn't *happy* -- we did manage to get him calmed down by putting on his favorite TV program (Super Why) and popping a donut hole in his hand. He snuggled with Grandma for an hour and then started playing with his blocks.


He loved his new book "That's Not My Snowman!" and had fun playing the piano. But a few too many passes through the foyer and seeing his coat and hat got him going again. He stood at the front door and was pulling on it while saying "Open!" (well, it started with O ... we think he was trying to say "open".)

So on went the coat and hat and William and I went outside for a walk. He loved being outside and we managed to take in quite a bit of the neighborhood. He met Mario but Bernie (the dog in the yard next door to Mario's) barked and scared Will. So we headed home just in time to find Papa. We decided to go back outside since we knew Daddy was coming soon and Will wouldn't let us take his hat off :)




Once Daddy arrived Will cheered up considerably and we had some fun playing in the leaves ...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no ... no

Sweet William.

He now says "No." Well, he said "No" before but now he says it repeatedly ... as in "No, no, no, no, no." And he means it.

It was not the best of mornings for our little guy. Mommy had stuff going on and Daddy wanted to play basketball with the guys so they thought it would be fun to have William come over and have breakfast with Papa, Auntie Bree, and GG-Paine. (Grandma Mema unfortunately had to work and was very sad that she could not join in the fun ...)

William, however, didn't think it was such a great idea. Even chocolate donut holes didn't help, although they were tasty and the crumbs stuck to his sweet little lips and cheeks long after the donut hole itself was gone.

According to his daddy, William was grumpy before he ever arrived at our house. He just wasn't happy and he wanted his mommy. So when daddy left he cried. He went and stood by the door. He put his bus by the door. He wanted his hat on ... (everyone knows that when it's time to leave you put your hat on.) And he pouted.


There were not a lot of smiles this morning. Papa captured a couple pictures of Will with his hat on, but they didn't include his cheerful grin.



Hopefully Josh will bring William with him tomorrow when he comes to help put up the shutters. And Mema will get to see him and love him up and maybe there will be a few smiles. We still have some donut holes after all.

Things That Go Bump In The Night ...

Or at least Little Bats that like to fly around saying "Boo!"

This morning Dave and I, Aunt Barbara, Lesley and Andrew, Jessica and Will, Glennys, and brother Dan got together at Lakeside to visit mom and have some Halloween treats. Little did we know the "trick" was on us!

When Dave, Glennys, and I arrived upstairs to see mom and grab a room we were informed that the hospital had mandated that no children under age 18 could be allowed on the floors due to the H1N1 virus. Of course, we knew that Andrew and William were already on their way.

Thankfully, the nurse at the desk called down and got permission for us to meet in the cafeteria. Actually, I think that worked out better as we were able to all gather around a table and had a place to set out the cider and donuts!

Here are a few pictures to remember the day. William loved his new books and his box of animal crackers. He especially liked the donut holes!

Mmmm ... donuts

First we have some donuts ...

Cousin Andrew is missing some teeth!

Chatting around the table ...

Did someone just eat a sugar donut?

Tickling Cousin Andrew!

William gets a new book and it's DEAR time -- Drop Everything And Read!

Reading "Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin" ..

Aunt Barbara knows how to make Will giggle -- just say "Boo!"

Even Little Bats know how to giggle!

Tonight William is going to go to Trunk or Treat at The Father's House church in Chili. Then I suspect the Little Bat costume will be retired for another time. But the bat ears may stick around -- Jessica says Will loves to wear it around the house!

Daniel's New Library Decoration ...

It's amazing the things you'll find on the shelves in the library ...



Silly dog!

Halloween Sneak Peek ...

William (a.k.a. Little Bat) went to "Trunk or Treat" at church last Sunday. Auntie Bree joined in the fun and snapped a whole bunch of adorable pictures. So -- here's a sneak peek of our sweetie pie:

In the bounce house ...

Another bounce house pic ...

Our favorite Little Bat ...

Flap your wings Little Bat!

So you hold your pumpkin out ...

mmm ... donuts

Such a fun day ...

Stay tuned for more pictures of Little Bat visiting the great-grandmas on Halloween!

The Magic of Motown ...

Dave and I started off the weekend by attending the first of the RPO's POP series concerts -- The Magic of Motown.

It was hurry up and get out the door since I had to work until 6. We had a fast dinner and then headed downtown so we could arrive early enough to walk around the new Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theater and see for ourselves what has been going on behind closed doors since last spring.

We were not disappointed! The new Kodak Hall is fabulous -- it is so much more intimate than before. The boxes on the sides of the hall certainly add to the "concert hall" atmosphere and provide a sense of class that was missing. The new seats are wonderful and comfortable and the new halogen lamps in the chandelier are brilliant!

On to the music -- lots of favorite Motown tunes sung in the style of The Four Tops and The Supremes by Spectrum and Radiance. We were entertained with song and dance for 2 hours and it was a fun and lively concert.


I have to admit that the vocals seemed to overpower the orchestra ... while I enjoyed hearing the harmonies of 4 - 8 voices they were a little much when combined with the instruments. I really enjoyed the selections where a solo or duet was featured and the orchestra was able to be heard.


Still -- it was a good show and, while not my favorite of all we've been to, it was a great way to start the season. And of course, anytime I can get out for a fun evening with Dave is all right by me!

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday ...

Here we are -- back to Sunday. What a week it's been!

First, I've been sick. I came down with the beginnings of a cold last Saturday (a few days after babysitting William who was coming down with a cold at the time) and by Sunday evening it was officially in the works. I spent Monday (the Columbus Day holiday) on the couch trying to see if I could nip it in the bud. No luck.

I spent the rest of the week trying to convince the folks at work that I was well enough to be there. After all, what would they do without me? LOL. Seriously though, it's pretty tough to call in sick (I'm not even sure HOW to call in sick there!) when you've only been working there a few weeks. So I toughed it out during the day and came home and crashed in the evenings.

By Thursday I felt the worst was over and on Friday I actually felt almost human. I still have a stuffy nose and a lingering cough but I think it's fair to say I've put the "cold" part of it all behind me. Thank goodness.

So I had to work Saturday morning which made my short week feel especially long for some reason. However, we had dinner with Pat and Steve to look forward to. We ended up going to The Arlington and had lots of fun chatting about the most recent goings on. Pat and Steve recently took a cruise of New England (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, Boston ....) so we heard about that and got the name of a great Irish pub in Quincy Market that Steve says we must visit. It's called The Black Rose and they feature Irish music and a lucky atmosphere.

Back to the Ayers house we sampled some ice wine while we watched Tailgate Warriors with Guy Fieri from The Food Network as the Buffalo Bills tailgaters competed against the Chicago Bears team in a tailgate throwdown. One of the team members from the Buffalo CBNG (Conklin's Bar and Grill) group was Hilton's own Brian Bartalo.

Sadly the Buffalo team lost (we think they got robbed!) but what was interesting was that even though it was filmed in August, they shot two endings. One ending had the Chicago guys winning, the other had the Buffalo team winning. They had to wait until last night when the show aired to see who actually won!

Anyway, we headed upstairs to play a fast-paced game of Mexican Train. As Dave and Steve battled back and forth for first place, Pat and I traded off third and fourth place honors most of the game. Ultimately I was the big loser when I managed to rack up over 500 points in one round (I hate it when you don't have a 3 to open up with!!) Thank goodness I don't take this stuff seriously (grrrrr .... )!

Home by 2 a.m. and we crashed on the couch. We finally got up, had a wonderful brunch here at home and now we're preparing to go visit the mothers and do some "Sunday" stuff (which means grocery shopping, laundry, picking up, yada yada ...)

All in all, it was a fun week. I was hoping to see William but with my cold that wasn't possible. I guess I'll have to get my William fix by enjoying this adorable picture:


This was taken on September 12th when we all got together to celebrate Will's first birthday. He was determined to eat the balloon!

Football, Dinner, and William

We had such a nice afternoon. I was worried we'd have to cancel since I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (sore throat, headache, and all the other yucky stuff that comes with having a cold ...) but some sinus tablets helped and off we went.

It was so nice to just relax a bit and watch football. William was sleeping when we arrived and so we all just hung out and chatted about the cruise we have booked for next July and the excursions that might be worth signing up for.

But once Will woke up the fun really started. He was full of energy and had us all laughing ... he has added "go" to his vocabulary (which currently consists of "all done", "again", and "NO" ...) Dave caught this picture of him wearing his dinosaur hat ...


We struggled through the Bills game, watching them lose to the Browns 6 - 3 ... but had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when it was finally over. Jessica made a pork loin stir fry with sugar snap peas that was just delicious and we had rainbow sherbet for dessert. Fantastic.

Tomorrow Dave and I are starting a diet (we have 9 months to get in shape for the cruise)so it was a nice way to end the week. Hoping that sometime this evening we can watch "The Wedding" episode of "The Office" again ... it was so great, it really needs to be watched twice.

And of course -- since it's Sunday night -- it's DEXTER!!!

Nice to have a fun evening of TV to look forward to after such a nice afternoon!

Potato Chowder and Chat ...

Dave and I had a wonderful evening catching up with Mark and Mary last night. Mary went to town and made a pot of chili AND potato chowder. Comfort food at it's best!

I opted for the potato chowder (what good Irish girl wouldn't?) and it was superb. Dave had a bowl of each (no surprises there either!) I brought my camera with me thinking I would take some pictures but it was forgotten next to my shoes (and is still sitting there as I type this. I'll need to stop there on the way to JJ&W's today to retrieve it!) So -- this picture is a somewhat fair representation of what my taste buds experienced (but I'm sure it isn't nearly as good!)


We had fun chatting about all the latest news -- Dave's decision to accept the job transfer, our anniversary trip to Gettysburg, William, and all the new TV shows. I think we've been convinced to give "GLEE" a try. Must remember to set the DVR for Wednesday night to record it. We have some catching up to do before jumping in.

And since I forgot to take any pictures, I'm going to steal a recent one from Mary's photo album on FB and include it here ... just because it's so nice to see those smiling faces :)


A wonderful evening with friends.

My Feet Hurt.

Gosh, working 6 days in a row, most of the time standing up has really taken a toll on my feet. They really ache tonight! I am in great need of a foot massage (I am so hoping that Dave reads this soon!)

Still it was such a beautiful fall day that even with throbbing tootsies I find it hard to complain. The trees are starting to turn. The rain that threatened the weekend all day Friday was long gone today (good news for the Apple Fest people) and the air was crisp. I am LOVING it!

Tomorrow will be a busy day with a birthday cake to bake, lasagna to prepare, the house to clean and laundry to finish up. It's a short weekend after working today but I have a 3-day weekend to look forward to when next Friday comes. Woo Hoo! I love paid holidays.

AND -- we had exciting news today -- Meghan competed in a 10K race (6.2 miles) and she came in THIRD for the women and SEVENTH overall (out of 250 people). Who knew she was a runner?!!! And she did it all in 46 minutes -- YES -- 46 MINUTES!!! (and in crummy shoes too.)


We are so proud. And she didn't even train for the race. She was planning to walk but when she saw all the "older" people running (you know, the ones in their 30s and 40s) she decided to pick up the pace.

So I guess I shouldn't be complaining about my achey feet. I have a feeling that tomorrow our Meghan is going to not only have achey feet but an achey body!!

WAY TO GO MEG! Dad and I are so proud of you :)

Fun Weekend!

Fall has arrived and just in time for a fun weekend where we could enjoy cooler temps and trees in the yard starting to turn.

We spent Saturday morning watching William (well, Dave and Bree watched him while I went for a hair appointment) and then chatted with Josh and Jess when they got back from AAA about our cruise options. Looks like we'll be heading to Alaska next July!

After they left we spent the afternoon getting ready for an evening with the Bohrers and Wirths. We got out the fall decorations and did a quick cleanup. Bree made pigs-in-a-blanket and I cut up pepperoni and cheese. We put the wine in the fridge to chill and then tried to relax for a few minutes before everyone arrived.

What a fun evening. After a couple hours of hanging in the kitchen and catching up we headed to the living room and had a Wii Bowling tournament. That Marilyn! She won it all but Jill gave her a run for it. All those years of being on bowling leagues were finally paying off. We really had a lot of fun.

Sunday was basically getting ready for the week (after sleeping in a bit!) Later in the afternoon we headed up to Josh's to watch the football game. Will was lots of fun -- I got a couple pictures of him practicing his smile ...




And then this one was just silly enough that I had to include it ...


Back to the grind tomorrow!!

William and the Ice Cream Sandwich

We had William for a little while this morning while Josh and Jessica went to AAA to look into Alaskan cruises (hooray -- we are booking a 7-day trip for next July!) I decided to have an ice cream sandwich and William was very excited to try it. He sat on my lap and enjoyed ...

Cheeks

Aren't these just the most adorable cheeks? This image graces my laptop's desktop!

Surviving the New Job ...

I am trying to make a list of all the things I haven't blogged about (but wanted to) over the past several months. Let's see -- my Mother's Day trip to Atlanta, the trip Dave and I took there in late June/early July. Our trip to Gettysburg ... William's birthday ... the list goes on and on.

However, I'm probably going to have to start with more current stuff and work backwards with "flashbacks" about what's been happening in the Paine family. It's just easier that way!

So I should probably start by mentioning that I have a new job. I decided phlebotomy just wasn't for me and decided to focus on looking for customer-oriented lines of work. I also was hoping to find something close to home (yeah, I was thinking of those nasty drives to RIT during those winter snowstorms and how much I never wanted to have to go through that again). Lo and behold I noticed that The Bank of Castile was looking for a bank teller at their Greece office. Hmmm ... 3 miles up the road. Five minutes from home. Out went the resume and in came a call for an interview.

It was kind of interesting that all this happened at the same time
I was considering a position with The American Red Cross. God certainly answered my prayers when I asked Him to intervene if that wasn't the right path. And the timing worked out so perfectly as I was able to get two interviews in before heading to Massachusetts with Dave (business trip for him). In fact, I was fielding calls about the job the whole time we were there and accepted the job while driving home.

So -- I started August 31st. I spent the first week training in Batavia (yep, an hour drive ... 40 miles each way!) and then the next two weeks in Caledonia (just as long a drive but only 30 miles ...)

I had such great experiences in both places. I was just hoping that working in the Greece office would be as nice.

Today was my first day in the Greece office. I'm so glad that's under my belt. It's nice to feel like I finally have a home after 3 weeks training in different locations. I'm excited to get to know the people working in Greece -- they sure seem like a fun bunch.

I'm hoping my feet will adjust to standing the majority of the day and that processing all the various transactions will soon become second nature. I know that it all just takes time. Looking forward to it all getting easier!

One day down ...

The Sleeping Grandpups

Meghan snapped this picture of their pups in a rare moment of peace and quiet. That's Desmo's new bed that he got for his birthday. Desmo is the brown one (on top) and M is the little one (she's a blue one.) They're just the sweetest pups!

Bree and Jay -- Together 5 Years

Yesterday was Bree and Jay's 5 year anniversary. To celebrate they went to a movie and dinner and ... had their pictures taken. I just loved these and had to post them.

A New Grandpuppy -- Introducing "M"

What a busy week it's been -- although I can scarcely remember what has managed to keep it so full. The days seem to just fly by, one flowing into the next with hardly enough time to reflect on any one event.

Earlier in the week I found myself immersed in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons -- a book I've wanted to read since reading The DaVinci Code came out a few years back. Since the Angels and Demons movie is about to come out (May 15) I decided I should get busy with it. However, I spent half of Monday and just about all of Tuesday with my nose in the book. I did manage to get a little laundry done and dinner on the table but that's about it!

Wednesday was my "William" fix -- as usual, he was lots of fun and I left their house exhausted. But it was a good exhausted :) Daisy had an evening grooming appointment with Jessie and kept us running. We got home just in time to be further confused by LOST.

Thursday was spent keeping busy around the house and doing more errands. We had someone come to estimate having the house trim painted (Yay! They'll be coming in June to paine so we'll finally be able to cross that job off the list!)

Friday I got out to visit Mom -- and had the fun of watching a mama duck with her dozen or so babies as she tried to move them from one part of the parking lot to another. I am SO thankful that none were in my path as I rounded the curve into the parking lot. I briefly caught them out of the corner of my eye as I pulled in. I could so easily have hit them had they been just a few inches in another direction.

It was fun to see the mama squawking at a good samaritan that wanted to help lift the ducklings up over the curb so they could follow mama ... he was quickly informed his help was not needed as mama squawked and rounded all the ducklings back up and then she (and they) went into "hiding" mode (she pulled her neck down and ended up looking like a rock. The babies did the same ... simply amazing) She did, however, keep poking her head up to see if the good samaritan had left. Too funny.

This morning was our monthly breakfast with Glennys and we were all happy that Josh came and brought William to entertain us. He is just growing by leaps and bounds. He's now pulling himself to a stand on the coffee table and couches with barely any effort and his two little teeth are in view for all to see.

He is becoming more vocal and will pound the table top to mimic you if you pound. He loves his little yogurt drop treats and we get a kick out of him picking them up and popping them into his mouth. Jessica certainly knows how to get him laughing -- he was in a full belly laugh tonight (we went up to their house for a BBQ cookout later this afternoon) as they played peek a boo on opposite sides of the coffee table.

Daniel and Meghan let us know that they have a new addition to their family -- Little M! She's a toy blue chiquaqua and is simply adorable. Daniel sent pictures so we could meet her. I, of course, will get to see her in person this coming Friday since I'm flying down to spend Mother's Day weekend with them!

Here are pictures of M -- she is about 14 weeks old here.