Stay Tuned...

There are so many things that have happened since I last posted. I don't even know where to begin. They need some time dedicated to the posts so bare with me as I need to find the motivation and time!
Here is just a small example of what's been going on with the Skimmy's. (Today is a Wed and all of this is from Sunday night on)

- An overnight stay at the in laws
- A drive 2 hours north in the snow to Charlie's Great Great Grandfather's Funeral
-Charlie being at the Funeral (it was 2 hours long!) (sneak peek... he was under the pew growling like a Tiger for a short minute)
- Charlie falling and blood
- A trip to Urgent Care with Charlie
- A trip to the ER with Charlie
- Being sent home with a sticker and a band aid for souvenirs
- Charlie's first fever of 102
- Dan & Kim get date night at a Piston's Game
- Charlie gets an overnight trip at Gram E and Pop E's house


and that brings us to today. I'm hiding in the house and regaining the normal life I thought we had! Some friends (Megan & Jeremy) will be over tonight for game night!

Tomorrow is NYE so be safe everyone and have fun! I'll probably not be able to post until 2010!!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I am so excited to celebrate Christmas with Charlie this year! He's starting to understand unwrapping presents. We are heading to my in laws today for a Polish Dinner and will be there until bedtime for Charlie probably. We will head home and wait for Santa. Tomorrow morning we will do Christmas just the 3 of us and then my mom will show up for brunch!!! I'm going to be making a prime rib for dinner tomorrow night- wish me luck!

Merry Christmas and I hope you have a safe few days!

Sorry Charlie, No More!

Tonight I was gave Charlie a bath. As soon as I set him in the tub- he did his normal- peed. He saw the stream going in the air and was watching it. As soon as he was done Charlie looked up at me and signed "More." Um, Charlie I can't make it do it again!!! For about 4 minutes he kept signing "more." Poor little guy just wanted to see the fountain some more and it was gone!

A Well Rounded Charlie

As Charlie's mother, I try to expose him to a wide variety of people, places and things. One of them includes going to the local retirement center. The Farmington Area Mom's Club does holiday activities at the American House about once a month. We have gone trick or treating, given goodies for Thanksgiving, gone to dance and visit and then today we went for Christmas.

Some of the residents remember Charlie. One woman today asked if he was there for Halloween and if he had a cape on. Yup, he was a vampire. A couple other women remember Charlie and myself and I think look forward to his visits. One older woman who I found out today had a bunch of children- all boys- enjoys watching Charlie because she just wonders were I get the energy to chase him! He loves to run around the center. In fact I chased him up the ramp to the rooms and then he dodged into someone's room and I had to catch him in there!

There is a man that I have found sitting in the same chair every time I've been there. I don't know his name but he is the first I go and say hi to. Today he seemed pretty good but last time we were there he was having a bad day and didn't even want to talk to me. He didn't remember Charlie and I and told me he didn't sleep the night before. I know that he lived in Farmington his whole life and that his family picks him up for lunch. He loves the burritos at the restaurant which he couldn't remember the name. This man tells me that he sits in that same chair everyday because it's his job to open the doors for lunch. You can tell that he looks forward to his job. I see my late grandpa, Elmer in him. He seems so kind and loving and you can just see in his eyes that he was a strong man when he was younger. I don't look forward to the visit there that he's not sitting in his chair. :-(

It's awesome that something so small as a visit with the residents puts a smile on my face and I'm sure their face too. I hope that Charlie appreciates that we do this someday. I would love for him to be understanding, thoughtful and respectful of everyone he meets. As his mother I feel like my job is to open up the doors for his heart to settle in.

Bay City Family Xmas!

Yesterday was the big family Xmas party up in Bay City. I love my family to pieces because everyone gets to bet themselves. And boy do they!!! We were missing my Uncle Carl and Aunt Leanne, Becky and her family, Mike and his fiancée. There were 17 adults and Brody, Maddy, Ally, Cammy, Grace, Mia and Charlie running around providing entertainment for the rest of us.

Dana was nice enough to host at her new house. It fit us all and there were tons of toys for the kids to play with. Charlie loves playing with his 3rd cousin Brody who is 8. Maybe it's because Brody will play BALL with Charlie for hours and hours! Charlie received some wonderful gifts from the family and was excited to wake up this morning and play with them some more. We just need a bigger house to fit everything in!

Let's see where the strange parts started...

Was it when Katy left to go ride the mechanical bull she has been talking about all night? - nah that's normal
Was it when we decided to take a family picture on the stairs? (the nice one is above) and Aunt Linda & Dana decided to flash the camera? nah that's normal also
Was it when Uncle Tim who had had his fair share of drinks wanted to play soccer in the kitchen and knocked over the wine glass and it went flying? And yes, of course I was standing right there wearing a cream sweater! nah that seems normal for us too.
Was it when Aunt Sue mentioned that her earing hole closed up and she wanted my Aunt Linda (who is a nurse) to poke a new one? Here were the items we had on hand, rubbing alcohol, a starter stud earing,ice cube and a piece of cheese. Can you see where this is going? Yup- Aunt Linda used the cheese where most people would use a potato! I couldn't stop laughing!!! OUCH! Aunt Sue is a true woman to go through that pain. I offered her a shot and she said no thanks!
Was it when I taught my family a dirty hand gesture which then was taught to my cousin Dana's daughter! If she accomplished it successfully Dana promised her $5! Mia who is 2.5 showed us immediately that she could do it! We started clapping and it scared her to tears- Dana gave her $10!
Could it be when Charlie was showing the bigger kids how to throw balls and kick a soccer ball? It's funny how amazed people are by how well he can do this at the age of 19 months!
Was it my cousin Tim's Fiancée that couldn't say no to the Jim Beam shot and then was later found in the kitchen scrounging for food because she was drunk!?!?

My guess... it was all of the above which made it another great family Xmas!

I miss seeing my family more. They are so welcoming and make you feel like you just saw them last week when really it's been a year! I also love that they make fun of Dan and refer to him as Skinny instead of Dan even after all these years! We are hoping to plan a cousin's Snuggie bar crawl!!! Katy and Dana are 2 of my best friends and basically sisters to me. I could sit and tell stories with them for a whole weekend. We would laugh and cry and probably drink a lot!

The Reason Behind the Title

It was brought to my attention that I have not addressed the title of this blog. Some may understand but my newer friends probably have no clue what Skimmy means!

When I met Dan in college he was 6'4" and 170lbs. His nickname was Skinny. I was called Kimmy by everyone and so we were Kimmy and Skinny. It got too hard for people to say over and over again so someone shortened it. We then became The Skimmy. It stuck and most of our college friends call us this to this day. So if you want the skinny on the Skimmy's you just have to read this blog! :-)

A trip to Lansing

Today Dan played in the Annual Holiday Tournament at MSU. I drove separate so that Charlie and I could sleep in a little!!! I drove to the gym and Charlie thought it was the greatest place ever. BALL, BALL, BALL!! He was able to run around and kick, hit and throw balls! He probably enjoyed the attention from all of his dad's friends too! The only meltdown was when Dan was playing and Charlie wanted to play too. He couldn't understand why Daddy was so close but he wasn't allowed to run out and play with his dad. Maybe someday soon he will realize there are lines on the floor that he can't cross over!?!

After playing at the gym I drove Charlie to visit his grandma (my mom)for the afternoon. He had so much fun!! My mom found my old music instruments and they made some loud music together! I think my mom is shocked at how busy Charlie is. One minute he wants to read a book, then it's time to throw a ball, eat a snack, empty her spice rack etc. Charlie loves that my mom's cat Joey actually stays in the room if he's in there. He doesn't seem to mind the hisses or the few bites he's gotten. He just keeps going back and petting him, pulling his fur and giving him kisses.

We did find out today that Charlie likes Split Pea Soup -YUCK! He wanted to eat that over the Arby's I had brought back for dinner. After dinner I waited for the phone call from Dan that he was done playing so that we could go pick him up. Once we heard that it was time to head back to East Lansing I started loading up the car. Since Charlie was there for naptime I had brought in the pack n play. (Charlie took a 2.5 hour nap for grandma!!) I got out to the car and I heard my mom yell "Charlie!" I turn around and he's standing on the front porch in his pj's waving bye bye to me! (It's a big 25 degrees outside!) That little guy followed me out when the door didn't close fast enough. He thought I was leaving so he waved to me! So in the last few weeks he's not only climbed out of his crib, climbed over a baby gate but now snuck out of my mom's house!

This week Charlie will get to go see Santa!!! I can't wait for the blog post to follow that. Will he bite, punch, kiss or hug Santa this year?? :-)

Charlie's Potty is here!!!!

No, I'm not potty training him, but probably someday right? I did however find a great deal on the potty I wanted for him so I figured it could sit in the closet for a while. It is the Bjorn and I got it for 50% off!! So I ordered it. (Actually 2 of them- one for each floor.) Charlie was excited when he saw it! It wasn't because he knew what it was but probably because it was something I actually let him play with!

I put it on the floor and asked if he wanted to sit on it.


Then I told him he needed to turn around.




I decided to stop taking pictures of Charlie sitting on his new potty. He carried it into the Living Room and I heard a thump! So what would any mother do? I took more pictures!




Charlie was fine- cried while I laughed because he was stuck in it!!!

Thankfully he got really excited when he realized that the potties came in a BOX! (a new word now! Thanks Amazon.com!) Dan, Charlie and I played with the box for about 45 minutes. Charlie kept signing more when Dan would close it on him and he would pop out! I threatened Dan not to throw this box away for a few days! This will be great entertainment!

Daddy made Chili!!!

I wasn't sure how Charlie would feel about Chili since Dan makes it a little spicy... I don't need to say more- just look at the pictures. I think he loved it!

Advent Calendar & Some Pictures!

I figured you guys would rather see some pictures of Charlie than something I have to say!

Ohhh... real quick. My favorite thing so far about the Christmas Season is the Advent Calendar. Charlie gets to open a door after dinner every night. I sit on the kitchen floor and he comes and sits on my lap. We look around for the number for the current day and we open it. Inside is a little piece of chocolate. However, before he gets to eat the chocolate (which he does say now!! So my child!) I talk to him about what the picture is that we just opened and he kisses the picture. I don't know how that started but it's kinda feel that it just makes him stop and be thankful for each day that we do this. Now, if you have ever seen Charlie eat a cupcake (more like inhale) this is the exact opposite. He will hold that little piece of chocolate in his little fingers and lick it. Actually this sounds cute- but it's not. This just makes for more melted chocolate all over his hands and he doesn't understand that he can't go in other rooms until it's gone. So for that last two days after about 10 minutes of him licking the chocolate Dan has held his hands down and put the chocolate in his mouth. We are mean parents aren't we?? We actually make our child EAT the chocolate!! ha ha oh well... we gave him his chance and after a while he just needs to eat the slimy bit of goodness. I love doing this every night and I can't wait to do it for years to come with him! (at some point I'll let him just do it and won't make him sit on my lap- but not until he's like 17!)

onward to pictures...
I thought it was too quiet- I found him out in the Florida Room playing cards!


Even though Charlie is always on the go- he does love to color!



He already likes to lick the spoon when I bake!

Dove Chocolate Discoveries

I just realized I've never posted about the little side job I do. I wouldn't call it a part time job because I only work when I want to! I've been doing these home parties since April.

Dove Chocolate Discoveries (DCD) was created by Dove Chocolate because they wanted to do home parties for making candy. Well, that niche was so small that they decided to branch out a little more and more and more. The company is less than 3 years old and with Mars backing Dove up... I just see even better things for this company. I am amazed by how much it has grown in the short time I've been around.

Some of my favorite items are the Coconut Chocolate Chip Smoothies (add Malibu Rum and it's like an Almond Joy!!!), The mousse of course, chi tea as a dip, Sea Salted Carmels and my #1 favorite: Cinnamon dusted milk chocolate covered almonds!! OMG the almonds are so amazing!!!!

I am glad that I get out of the house a little bit, make some extra money and can use this company to help others. The Farmington Area Mom's Club just did a vendor night that I helped put on this week. We had 27 vendors and it was $10 to have a table. We also asked for a donation from each vendor to put into our raffle. Our raffle and the profit from the tables helped raise $390. While that is great and all... I haven't mentioned what the $$ is going toward yet... our 2 families we adopted for Christmas! I really felt something for these two families. They were both single mom's of younger children. One of them had 4 year old twins and she left her abusive husband in the middle of the night. She basically is asking for the essentials. Laundry Detergent, bed sheets, a new fry pan etc. I'm so glad that we raised enough money to hand over a gift card to Target for anything that we don't get donated to us by our members.

I'm glad that DCD could help me raise money for these families. It makes your "job" just that much more interesting and important.

oh yeah... here is the website if you need anything!!! I didn't want to post my full name so if you want to see my personal website for DCD let me know! http://www.dove-chocolate-discoveries.com