My 100th Post

Really I thought I had done more than that. But I haven't. I need to do better!
I thought about doing 100 things I love or something, but that would take a long time, and really I don't know that I have time or if my brain would work long enough.

So you are going to get a whole bunch at once, all about what September has brought for us, that is if I have a picture and can jog my memory.

Over Labor Day we went to the Science Center! It was a lot of fun. My kids really enjoyed it, but my Little Man was afraid of the butterflies. I am talking really scared of them. And they were so cool, and kept trying to land on him. Poor kid was terrified. Little Miss on the other hand LOVED THEM! She enjoyed every minute of it. Then we went to see the dinosaurs, and both of them were enjoying every minute of it!!

The same weekend she also found a marker that I had foolishly left out. Thank goodness it was washable. And I am thankful that when her daddy found her he had such a good sense of humor and knew to snap a picture! And yes, her nose was stained blue for a few days.

We got Little Miss some new clothes, she was in dire need. She has grown a ton, and she is so cute. I took her picture and realize how grown up she is becoming. Every picture I took of her she wanted to show me she was upside down. She is a hoot! Watch out world. She is a knock out!

Then the kids have went back to school. When did I become old enough to have two kids in preschool? That is right for two hours twice a week I am alone. No kids. So what do I do? Today I am blogging, trying to get a little caught up. Thursday's that is my temple day. A great way to spend the week. Tuesday I do such a variety, from my Visiting Teaching, to Shopping, to just chilling!

And last Tuesday I decided to go drive a minivan. I want to belong to the cool group of Mormon Mommy's that drive van's. So I decided after a nice test drive that we should take the plunge. So here is the Millennium Falcon, as Randy calls. The new van!

And who can forget my Little Man who now can ride a bike all by himself. This past weekend the four of us enjoyed a nice bike ride together. Little Miss in her trailer and the rest of us on our way to getting really sore butts!

So this is post 100, you get to learn all about our September. It was fun, it was eventful. And we were able to have a lot of fun family time!

He is Growing Up!!

Little Man is growing up way too quickly. He is becoming more independent. I am so proud of him, but I wonder where my little boy has went, how did he get so big?

His newest feat is he is now riding his back without training wheels. This summer Grandpa had attempted to help him, and he did great for his first try, (like 20 feet) and then he took an unfortunate crash into the rose bushes and ended up with a thorn in his hand. He was not happy. Thursday night Randy took the training wheels off and we bribed him with a trip to Dairy Queen and he decided he could try it. It took a little work with Randy running and pushing him, and then he got it!

Every minute he gets he is outside on his bike riding. The "big" kids in the neighborhood that he adores have all been congratulating him, and helping him up when he falls. I am proud to report that we have had some crashes, but we haven't had any blood! Every time he crashes he says I am okay, no blood! He is steering a little better and in just a few days he has come a long way! I am so proud!! How did this happen? When did he become so big?

He Hears Us

My Dad had to go to the cardiologist today, out of town. He was told to go prepared to stay a week, they had found a restriction in his heart. My Mom, little sister who is 9, and my Dad went worried he was going to have open heart surgery. He had been having pains and just not feeling well.

We knew he was going up today so all of my family fasted for him today in hopes that things would go well. I am happy to report that our prayers were heard! My Mom the cute woman she is was talking to me while they were doing the Heart Cath and said oh, he is done, they are wheeling him out and he is still alive! Not that she expected him to die, but hey he is still alive! And the even better news is that he has a kinked artery in his heart which we have known about but it isn't causing any problems and things are okay. No need for surgery, no need for angioplasty, none of it. He is okay and was able to come home today.

When my Mom told me that tears came to my eyes. I was overcome with joy knowing my Dad would be okay. There had been some fear among the family of what would happen if he had to have open heart surgery. We know that people have had open heart and come through just fine, my nine year old sister is one of those people. But it is still scary. The thought of losing my Dad was scary, more scary than I thought it would be. It has been an emotional week for all of us, so to know that he is okay, I know that my Heavenly Father heard our prayers. How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers and pleas of His children. I know He hears us, and He is so aware of us.

A Tribute to Curtis T. Noel

I am participating in the 2,996 Tribute for the victims of 9/11. It is a honor to do so. I hope and pray that I will be able to help people to see a glimpse at who Curtis was. To help to put a face on someone who was a victim to help us never forget.

Tragically Curtis T. Noel was one of those victims. His life ended too short. Curtis was only 22, not nearly old enough when his life was taken too soon. Curtis died five years ago on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center, Tower 1.

Curtis was a jokester. He kept everyone laughing. He graduated in 1996 from James Monroe High School in the Bronx, NY. He was voted class clown in his class. A memory his friend Jose had of this is, "He was one of the funniest people I knew. I remember we had a senior party in H.S. and he pulled his jeans down on the stage and showed everyone his "Joe Boxers". Some bright yellow happy face boxers. He had the whole party laughing."

Curtis Noel loved to tease his mother. Once Theresa Noel dropped some chicken on the floor, and her son shouted, "Nasty, nasty!" Then he said that was where he got his clumsy genes.

Curtis was kind, and a friend to all those who knew him. He impacted people's lives, even those who only met whim once, or had just spoken to him on the phone. Kimberly a friend from high school recounts, "I had the pleasure of knowing Curtis since high school. We attended the prom together and spoke frequently on the telephone, since I moved to Georgia. He was the person that I could talk to when I felt that no one else would understand me." Another friend Conrad said. "Curtis was a free spirit who was always there with a smile. Its so sad to know that the world will only see you as part of this immense tragedy and not as our FRIEND. To know you is to Love you my Brother."

His friend Kisha related, "I remember during the summer I would spend the weekend at my cousin Lisa's house, she lived a few blocks away from Curtis and his cousin Garvin. Lisa and I would sit outside on the front porch trying to catch some of the cool night air before going to bed. While we sat there we made sure our hair, makeup and clothing looked great just in case Curtis and Garvin passed by to chill with us. As Lisa and I were talking our conversation would be cut short by the loud music coming from a dark car with dark tinted windows...The only thing that could be seen were these big bright eyes gleaming from a cracked window. After a few seconds the music would be turned down and the power windows would roll down and we would hear "Wassup Yo!"

Lisa and I would laugh because we both thought Curtis was cute and had a resemblance to that of Chris Tucker. Curtis would sit with us and chat for a while until Garvin called to meet up with him, then the 4 of us would just sit and crack jokes and try to mack to each other to see who had the best game. I will always treasure those days and will never forget Curtis for always making me laugh, even when I didn't want to."

Another great memory of Kisha's is, "I will never forget how I use to look forward to the weekends when I would spend time with my cousin at her house in the Bronx, the reason being was because I knew that I would see Curtis aka "Curt Flirt". Curtis was just so funny and he made me laugh constantly, even when he was serious he was funny."

"I never met Curtis face to face, but dealt with him often. The company I worked for partitioned the GenTel switch. Curtis was always friendly and helpful. I always enjoyed speaking to him. I was deeply saddened when I learned that he lost his life on 9/11." This was said by Annette, she knew what a great person he was just from talking to him on the phone.

These are just a few of many great things people have to say about Curtis.

Curtis worked at General Telecom in the World Trade Center, he loved his job as a switch engineer. He was a valuable and hard working employee. The company had sent him to training courses, and was always calling him in on weekends when something went wrong. Curtis took his future seriously. He worked hard and he was studying telecommunications at Manhattan Community College and dreamed of owning his own home.

Curtis could never bulk up. He would go to the gym, or eat a lot, but he was always skinny. So he would tell his husky friend Garvin, "You're my bodyguard." He had got Garvin a job at another office of General Telecom, but they rode most of the way from the Bronx to work together. The last time he told Garvin about bodyguard duty was the morning of Sept. 11, when they arranged to go to the bank at lunchtime. They shook hands when Garvin got off at the Brooklyn Bridge stop on the No. 4 train.

For the two years prior Curtis Noel and Aisha Harris led intertwined lives. With all they had in common, the only surprising thing about their relationship is that it took so long to get off the ground.

Both 22, they lived a little more than a mile and a half apart in the South Bronx and met three years ago through mutual friends. Aisha, who wasn't dating anyone at the time, started going out to parties and clubs with the group while she continued her search for the elusive Mr. Right.

If Aisha wanted her life to go somewhere, so did Curtis. Like Aisha, he lived with his parents, immigrants from Trinidad who instilled the value of family and hard work in their youngest son. "He was brought up to do the right thing," said Curtis' best friend, Garvin.

"What about Curtis?" Arvette Harris asked her daughter when she complained about the shortage of responsible men. "Sounds like you're looking for the same thing."

It took a year for the penny to drop. But when it did, it dropped with a vengeance. "It was obvious to me that they were just crazy about each other," said Aisha's mother. The couple took vacations together in Florida and the Caribbean and were constantly visiting each other's house.
Romance didn't slow their pace. Aisha switched her major to telecommunications after a summer internship at General Telecom turned into a customer service job. Curtis was taking night classes and looking into buying a condo in Brooklyn. The two had discussed marriage and their future, said Aisha's mother, but they both wanted to get financially established before taking such a step. "For people so young, they had everything on the ball," she said.

Curtis had a lot going for him. He was successful, he was funny, he was smart, and kind. Curtis is a son, a brother, a friend. He left behind his parents, Teresa and Michael Curtis Sr., his brother, Michael Curtis Jr., and his sister, Abigail, all of the Bronx. Curtis is the type of guy you would want for a friend.

As I researched to learn more about Curtis, my heart went out to his family and his friends. I am two years younger than him, and I cannot imagine the heartache his family has felt. To his mother, my heartaches for you losing your son. I look at my own son and cannot even begin to imagine that pain you must feel, I am so very sorry. From everything I read I am in awe of Curtis and the great guy that he was and is. What a blessing to have touched so many lives. My heart goes out to you for your loss of your friend, you son, your brother. I feel I only touched the tip of the iceberg on someone so great. I will never forget what I have learned.

September 11, 2001 a day I don't think any of us will ever forget. A day that changed so many lives for so many people. Families were changed as loved ones were ripped away from them on this Earth. Our hearts ached for people we didn't know for those who had lost their loved ones. For those we suffered so much. I did not personally know anyone who died that tragic day. I live on the opposite side of the country, but the day was tragic and devastating to all Americans and to many more people around the world. Here it is five years later, how many of us remember? Do we remember where we were? What we were doing? Do we remember how we were glued to the TV not moving, wondering how could this be happening? The fear, the anger? Too often I think people forget what happened that day. We as a country united to support one another. People risked their lives and sacrificed their lives in effort to save others. I am grateful to have had the chance to learn about someone so great. To put a face and on a victim and to help me to remember what happened that day.

For those of you who know Curtis, I hope I helped to share some of who he is. If you know him please leave a comment.

September 11th, I will never forget.

I Think I Might Get Used to This!

Yesterday both of my kids started Pre-School. Little Miss goes to one from the School District because of her speech delay. And Little Man goes to one that a great lady in our ward does. Lucky him there are 6 boys in it!! Want to know what I forgot though? I am embarrassed to admit it, but their first day of school pictures! How did I do that? So I will take their 2nd day of school pictures and call it good.

I didn't want to send Little Miss this year, she is only three and my baby. But with her speech delay I knew she needed help so I sent her. Little Man has been looking forward to it all summer and since he is going to be 5 soon it was a little easier for me. I almost cried when I dropped her off yesterday. I had tears in my eyes and thought wow, I am really going to leave her? She looked a little confused but excited. Little Man was off and running saying Bye Mom, go home!! So I left all by myself, no kids with me. It was weird and I was a little sad. They are my life!

I contemplated what to do, and finally decided the Mall was calling my name. I mean who doesn't want to go there without kids and get to shop and browse all by themselves!! I wandered around and finally decided since I was alone I could try some stuff on. I needed some jeans, especially after the bleaching accident in April. I have been looking for some for a while but have had a hard time finding some long enough, (36-37 Inseam) And that are the ghetto low butt crack showing jeans. Those happen to show all of the pretty stripes my tummy has thanks to the kiddos. Seriously who wears these jeans with the one inch zipper? Maybe that is why we see all of these girls thongs showing. Yuck! Anyway... I can never find ones that fit my straight boy like hips either. And I hate when you try on jeans and get the pancake butt, you know kinda like the uni-boob from the sports bra. So yesterday being all alone, the Heavens opened and showed me the way to the chosen jeans. They rock, and I feel like I look smokin' in them. Very rarely do I find clothes that I really LOVE. They are the perfect rise, low but not butt crack low. They don't give me the muffin top squish, my butt is not pancaked in them. They are long enough and I am thrilled. But wait it gets better! I found two pair that fit me. Two different styles both with one pair in my size. It was a sign I had to get them. So happily I bought myself two new pair of jeans. I had a little guilt, but after the bleaching incident I only had one pair!! And fall is rapidly approaching.

Then I learned from the mall to my Little Miss' PreSchool was only nine minutes. That is crucial information. I picked her up and she was all smiles and told me preschool was fun. She loved the toys and the snack. She was beaming. So maybe her going isn't such a bad idea. They said she was excited the whole time. Made me a little sad, but I thought I think I might like this two hour break twice a week. Then we got Little Man who was so excited to have spent so much time with all of his friends, and NO GIRLS! He came home with a rocket and is ready to go back again! They are loving it and it is all they talk about. I think I like this. I can't believe they are this old, or that I am that old, hello 26 and my kids are both gone for a few hours a day? I thought I had to be 30+ to have that happen. Life is good.